Towards a Fasciola hepatica vaccine: FhSAP-2 as a potent Th1 inducer in a mouse model 4706

Abstract Description Fasciola hepatica, the etiological agent of fasciolosis, one of the most important zoonotic diseases, affects 2.4 to 17 million people and causes economic losses of up to 3 billion USD due to livestock infections. Triclabendazole is the only drug effective against both early immature and adult liver flukes. However, increasing reports of resistance threaten the effective control of fasciolosis, making vaccine development a more promising alternative. Given that F. hepatica is renowned for its ability to evade immune detection by driving anti-inflammatory Th2 responses, achieving effective immunity requires the activation of pro-inflammatory Th1 responses. FhSAP-2 has been shown to induce partial protection against F. hepatica in animal models when formulated in Th1-skewing adjuvants. In our study, we assessed whether a modified version of FhSAP-2, formulated with Montanide ISA50 could induce Th1-immune responses. Humoral and cell-mediated immunity was assessed by ELISA and flow cytometry in vaccinated C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. Results showed robust IgG responses, characterized by Th1-associated IgG2a and IgG2c antibody subtypes and increased production of IFN-γ from CD4+ T cell populations in the spleen. Here, we demonstrated that modified FhSAP-2 has promising potential to stimulate Th1-immune responses associated with protection, further supporting its development as a vaccine candidate in commercially viable adjuvant formulations. Funding Sources This work was supported by NIAID/NIH grant number SC1AI155439-01. Topic Categories Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)