RECOMBINANT MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS BCG IS A PROMISING PLATFORM TO DEVELOP VACCINES AGAINST TRYPANSOMA CRUZI INFECTIONS

IVAN BONTEMPI (1) | GENARO DÍAZ,IVAN MARCIPAR ESTEFANIA PROCHETTO(1), ; KAREN LEAL, SIBELE BORSUK(2) | ODIR DELLAGOSTIN(2)

Mar del Plata

Congreso; REUNIÓN ANUAL DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIA 2019; 2019

SAP

Chagas disease is caused by human infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affecting more than 7 million people worldwide, and there is not yet a vaccine available to control this protozoan infection. BCG vaccine has been extensively used as antigens delivery platform to reach immunity against many infection models, however it has not been described in T. cruzi infection. In the present study, we evaluated recombinant BCG (rBCG) expressing three T. cruzi antigens: two derived from Trans-sialidase (NT-TS, CT-TS) and one from Cruzipain (CZf). Each antigen was cloned into two different vectors able to replicate in Mycobacterium bovis and each construction was transformed in the BCG Pasteur strain. We immunized groups of BALB/c mice with the six rBCGs and controls with BCG Pasteur and PBS. Thirty days after the last immunization animals were challenged with 1,000 T. cruzi. The immunoprotective potential of rBCGs strains against T. cruzi was evaluated and a significant survival rates after challenge were observed only in NT-TS group (p