Schistosome Calpain as a Vaccine Candidates

描述(申请人提供)：血吸虫病是一种慢性疾病，通常 使人虚弱的疾病折磨着2亿多人，另外600人 在74个国家，有100万人面临风险。尽管血吸虫杀菌剂和其他 控制措施，包括公共卫生和灭螺措施的存在，来临 一种有效的疫苗仍然是最有潜力的有效手段 控制这种疾病。 血吸虫与宿主密切互动，执行以下功能 营养摄取、免疫回避和依恋。我们的目标是测试 假设宿主暴露的血吸虫蛋白承担这种作用 基本功能可以成为血吸虫病疫苗的有效靶点。在……里面 在这个方案中，我们专注于一个宿主的相互作用蛋白，并利用最新的 刺激和调节免疫反应的技术，以便最终 验证以下假设：这些蛋白质将成为高度 保护性血吸虫病疫苗。 我们的候选疫苗是钙激活的中性蛋白酶(=calain， =sm-p80)，在细菌的表面膜更新中起着关键作用。 血吸虫，一种被认为是 血液蠕虫来逃避宿主免疫。这种蛋白质已经被证明暴露在 在宿主寄生虫界面上，并具有天然的免疫原性。因此，如果一个 免疫反应是针对这种蛋白诱导的，它应该会引起大量 对虫子的伤害。 在本应用中，我们建议构建包含cDNAs的表达载体 编码钙蛋白酶和细胞因子用于DNA免疫。我们将检测DNA 使用这些构建体的免疫方案，这些构建体包含Calain，还 引导细胞因子共表达的载体增强人免疫缺陷病毒的免疫识别 因为它有能力对人的生存产生破坏性影响 血吸虫。除了检验在功能上很重要的假设 血吸虫宿主相互作用蛋白成为有效的疫苗靶点 拟议中的实验结果应该会带来额外的好处。我们的 研究将提供有关这些策略和细胞因子如何成功的新数据 改变对两亲性蛋白的免疫反应。更重要的是， 这些研究应该为免疫机制提供新的见解，这种机制可以 破坏蠕虫寄生虫，并建立一个模型，用来随后研究 效应器机构。

DESCRIPTION (Provided by Applicant): Schistosomiasis is a chronic, often debilitating, disease afflicting over 200 million people, an additional 600 million are at risk in 74 countries. Although schistosomicidal agents and other control measures, including public hygiene and snail control exist, the advent of an efficacious vaccine still remains the most potentially powerful means for control of this disease. Schistosomes interact closely with their host, performing functions such as nutrient uptake, immune avoidance and attachment. Our goal is to test the hypothesis that host-exposed, schistosome proteins that undertake such essential functions can be effective targets of a schistosomiasis vaccine. In this proposal, we focus on one host interactive protein and utilize the latest technologies to stimulate and modulate immune responses so as to definitively test the hypothesis that these proteins will be effective targets of a highly protective schistosomiasis vaccine. Our vaccine candidate is calcium activated neutral protease (= calpain, =sm-p80), which plays a pivotal role in the surface membrane renewal of schistosomes, a phenomenon which is considered to be a mechanism employed by hemo-helminths to evade host immunity. The protein has been shown to be exposed at the host parasite interface and to be naturally immunogenic. Therefore if an immune response is induced against this protein, it should cause substantial harm to the worm. In this application we propose to construct expression vectors containing cDNA encoding calpain and cytokines for DNA immunization. We will test DNA immunization protocols using these constructs containing calpain and also vectors directing co-expression of cytokines to enhance immune recognition of calpain for its ability to elicit a damaging effect on the survival of schistosomes. In addition to testing the hypothesis that functionally important schistosome host interactive proteins make effective vaccine targets, the results of the proposed experiments should offer additional benefits. Our studies will provide new data on how these strategies and cytokines succeed in modifying immune responses to amphitropic proteins. Of greater importance, these studies should provide new insight into immune mechanisms which can damage worm parasites and establish a model by which to subsequently study the effector mechanisms.