Randomized field trial of a therapeutic vaccine against Trypanosoma cruzi natural infection in dogs and correlates for efficacy
Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a vector-borne parasitic disease, and dogs are a major domestic host of the parasite. We performed the first randomized field trial of an immunotherapeutic vaccine among client-owned dogs with natural infections and investigated immune correlates of efficacy. Thirty one dogs with T. cruzi infection received three doses of Tc24-C4 and TSA1-C4 recombinant proteins with MPLA (N = 16) or saline control (N = 15) and were followed for six months. Therapeutic vaccination decreased parasite burden, prevented/stopped cardiac alterations measured by electrocardiographic (ECG) recordings and was safe. Vaccine treatment induced changes in T cell activation and T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire, and also inhibited the ongoing innate immune response to reduce inflammation, suggesting a complex interplay between innate and T cells. These results support the further development of a vaccine based on these antigens to prevent the progression of chronic cardiac disease from T. cruzi infection.
Authors
- J.F.J. Torres-Acosta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3724-3391)
- Jaime Ortega‐López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9136-9994)
- Eric Dumonteil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9376-0209)
- Liliana Villanueva‐Lizama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1848-2584)
- Pedro Pablo Martínez-Vega (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2738-2278)
- Victor Manuel Dzul-Huchim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2956-1314)
- Etienne Waleckx (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3270-6476)
- Claudia Herrera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9009-4201)
- Julio Vladimir Cruz-Chan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4931-146X)
- Christian Teh‐Poot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3422-3339)
- Jorge Andrés Calderón-Quintal
- Landy M. Pech-Pisté
Institutions
- Tulane University (US)
- Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Autonomous University of Yucatán (MX)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX)
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Vaccines
- Published
- 2025-12-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01338-z
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Trypanosoma species research and implications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.35
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases