• Vaccine Name: T. cruzi DNA prime/rTc80 + ODN-CpG boost vaccine
• Target Pathogen: Trypanosoma cruzi
• Target Disease: Chagas disease
• Type: Recombinant vector vaccine
• Status: Research
• Host Species for Licensed Use: Mouse
• Antigen: Tc80 (Bivona et al., 2018)
• Tc80 gene engineering:
  • Type: DNA vaccine construction
  • Description:
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Adjuvant:
  • Adjuvant name:
  • VO adjuvant ID: VO_0001237
• Immunization Route: Intramuscular injection (i.m.)
• Description: T. cruzi vaccine involving priming with Tc80 DNA delivered by a bacterial vector followed by a boosting with rTc80 + ODN - CpG (Bivona et al., 2018)

Mouse Response

• Host Strain: C3H/HeN
• Host age: 7 week old
• Vaccination Protocol: Mice were immunized with four doses separated by ten days. Mice received two does of Tc80 DNA delivered by the attenuated Salmonella (1x10^9 CFU/mouse) followed by two does of 10 ug rTc80 + 10 ug CpG - ODN intramuscularly. Control group mice were intramuscularly injected twice with PBS + 10 ug CpG-ODN and then two does of attenuated Salmonella carrying an empty plasmid pcDNA 3.1 orally. (Bivona et al., 2018)
• Immune Response: Mice immunized at least twice with the recombinant protein (Pboost group) elicited antibody titers considerably higher than control group. Pboost group showed an IgG2a/IgG1 ratio about 25-fold higher than rTc80im group, indicating that STc80 priming accentuated the bias towards a Th1 response. (Bivona et al., 2018)
• Challenge Protocol: Two weeks after last immunization, immunized female C3H/HeN mice were challenged intraperitoneally with 200 blood trypomastigotes of T. cruzi strain RA. (Bivona et al., 2018)
• Efficacy: Immunized groups showed a decreased parasitemia and higher survival rate compared with non-immunized control mice. Moreover, during the chronic phase of the infection, immunized mice presented: lower levels of myopathy-linked enzymes, parasite burden, electrocardiographic disorders and inflammatory cells. (Bivona et al., 2018)