Renewed hope for a vaccine against the intestinal adult Taenia solium

SCIUTTO, E., ROSAS, G., CRUZ-REVILLA, C., TOLEDO, A., CERVANTES, J., HERNÁNDEZ, M., HERNÁNDEZ, B., GOLDBAUM, F. A., DE ALUJA, A. S., FRAGOSO, G. AND LARRALDE, C.

JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY

AMER SOC PARASITOLOGISTS

Año: 2007 vol. 93 p. 824 - 831

0022-3395

The disease caused by Taenia solium is progressively beingrecognized as a growing global threat for public human health and pighusbandry that requires the development of effective control measures.A central participant in the taeniasis/cysticercosis transmission networkis the human carrier of the adult tapeworm because of its great potentialin spreading the infection. Herein, evidence is presented that a primaryinfection of golden hamsters with orally administered T. solium cysticerciimproved the host?s resistance against a secondary infection. Likewise,previous vaccination increased the hamster?s resistance. Similarhigh levels of protection (78%) were induced by systemic or oralvaccination with the S3Pvac anticysticercosis synthetic peptide vaccineor the highly immunogenic recombinant chimera based on the protectivepeptide KETc1 bound to Brucella spp. lumazine synthase (BLSKETc1).Increased resistance after primo-infection and vaccination possiblyresults from changes in the immune conditions prevailing in thehost?s intestine. The contribution to protection from the KETc1 and BLSepitopes in a chimeric vaccine is under study. Preventive vaccinationof definitive hosts of T. solium against the tapeworm, the most relevantstep in the taeniasis/cysticercosis transmission, may greatly impact thedynamics of endemic disease and has not been studied or tried previously.