Characterization of a novel <i>Leishmania</i> antigen containing a repetitive domain and its potential use as a prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine
A previous reverse vaccinology study identified kinetoplast-associated protein-like protein from <i>Leishmania infantum</i> (LinKAP) as a potential new vaccine target, as this protein was recognized by the sera of protected mice in extracts of <i>Leishmania</i> promastigotes. Interestingly, LinKAP is a repetitive protein containing trichohyalin-plectin-homology (TPH) and TolA domains and was initially annotated as a kinetoplast-associated protein. We further characterized LinKAP as a mitochondrial-associated protein highly conserved among trypanosomatids. We also validated LinKAP as a promising vaccine antigen by using a truncated version of LinKAP (rLinKAP) as both a prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine, adjuvanted with Poly ICLC, to immunize animals against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). This disease, caused by the <i>Leishmania</i> parasite, affects several populations globally and still lacks highly effective vaccines. Identifying LinKAP and its preliminary characterization also provides new perspectives for studying its role in the parasite's biology.
Authors
- Bianca de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6572-4147)
- Pablo Victor Mendes dos Reis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9030-1015)
- Tiago Queiroga Nery Ricotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9047-1627)
- Jeremy C. Mottram (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5574-3766)
- Renan P. Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9479-4432)
- Wanessa Goes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1323-432X)
- Diego Esteban Cargnelutti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1246-7551)
- Santuza Maria Ribeiro Teixeira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2588-2842)
- Éden Ramalho Ferreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6534-0426)
- Milton Pereira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2977-1565)
- Ricardo T. Gazzinelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2427-7699)
- Frederico Crepaldi Nascimento
- Juliana B. T. Carnielli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2116-6379)
- Ana Paula Fernandes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6208-548X)
- Alex F. Carvalho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4372-5282)
- Liliane Martins dos Santos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4466-8868)
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR)
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
- Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (AR)
- Biomedical Research Institute (US)
- Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo (AR)
- University of York (GB)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mSphere
- Published
- 2025-04-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00097-25
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Research on Leishmaniasis Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.76
Funders
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais