Testing of Schistosoma mansoni Vaccine Targets

• Published in: Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) Vol. 2151; p. 229
• Main Authors: Zhang, Weidong, Molehin, Adebayo, Patel, Parth, Kim, Eunjee, Peña, Adam, Siddiqui, Afzal A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2020
• Subjects: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Feces - parasitology; Female; Immunity, Cellular; Immunity, Humoral; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Ovum - physiology; Parasites - immunology; Perfusion; Primates; Schistosoma mansoni - immunology; Vaccines - immunology; Schistosoma mansoni; Schistosomiasis; Animal models; Immunology; Vaccine testing; Vaccine efficacy; Egg burden; Sm-p80
• ISSN: 1940-6029
• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0635-3_19

Vaccination has greatly reduced the burden of human diseases caused by infectious pathogens. Systematic development of vaccine targets requires established protocols to assess immunogenicity and efficacy of such vaccine candidates. Using a leading schistosomiasis vaccine candidate, Sm-p80, as an example, we describe standardized approaches for testing the immunogenicity and efficacy of Schistosoma mansoni vaccine targets. Unlike other parasite systems in which sterile immunity is required, the goal of S. mansoni vaccine targets is overall reduction in morbidity. Methods related to the parasitological parameters described in this chapter allow for the testing of the prophylactic (reduction in adult worm burden), anti-pathology (liver and intestine egg retention), and transmission blocking (fecal egg expulsion and egg hatching rates) efficacies for the vaccine target. The RNA sequencing approaches provide basis for identification of molecular signatures predictive of desirable outcomes for schistosomiasis vaccines.