Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Evaluation of schistosomula lung antigen preparation and soluble egg antigen vaccines on experimental schistosomiasis mansoni

  • Nagwa S. M. Aly (Department of Parasitology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University) ;
  • Hye-Sook Kim (Division of International Infectious Diseases Control, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University) ;
  • Maysa A. Eraky (Department of Parasitology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University) ;
  • Asmaa A. El Kholy (Department of Parasitology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University) ;
  • Basma T. Ali (Department of Parasitology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University) ;
  • Shin-ichi Miyoshi (Department of Sanitary Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University) ;
  • Rabab E. Omar (Department of Parasitology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, Benha University)
  • Received : 2022.11.13
  • Accepted : 2023.07.20
  • Published : 2023.08.31
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Abstract

Schistosomiasis causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. This study aimed to assess the effect of schistosomula lung antigen preparation (SLAP) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) on a murine schistosomiasis mansoni model. Ninety laboratory-bred male Swiss albino mice were divided into 6 groups. Two doses of the vaccine were given at 2-week intervals. All mice were subcutaneously infected with 80±10 Schistosoma mansoni cercariae 2 weeks after the last vaccination dose. They were sacrificed 7 weeks post-infection. Parasitological and histopathological studies were conducted to assess the effect of inoculated antigens (single or combined). The results showed that the combination of SLAP and SEA (combination group) led to a significant reduction in worm burden (65.56%), and liver and intestine egg count (59% and 60.59%, respectively). The oogram pattern revealed a reduction in immature and mature eggs (15±0.4 and 10±0.8, respectively) and an increased number of dead eggs in the combination group (P<0.001). In terms of histopathological changes, the combination group showed notably small compact fibrocellular egg granuloma and moderate fibrosis in the liver. A high percentage of destroyed ova was observed in the intestine of the combination group. This study demonstrates for the first time the prophylactic effect of combined SLAP and SEA vaccine. The vaccine induced a significant reduction in the parasitological and pathological impacts of schistosomiasis mansoni in hepatic and intestinal tissues, making it a promising vaccine candidate for controlling schistosomiasis.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was partially supported by a grant from the Program of the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases (J-GRID, JP22wm0125004) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT), and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). We are deeply grateful to Prof. Tarek Aboushousha, Department of Pathology, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, for his important role in performing the histopathology of this study.

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