Nd. Connell et al., EFFECTIVE IMMUNIZATION AGAINST CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS WITH RECOMBINANT BACILLE CALMETTE-GUERIN EXPRESSING THE LEISHMANIA SURFACE PROTEINASE GP63, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 90(24), 1993, pp. 11473-11477
Leishmania parasites cause a spectrum of diseases that afflict the pop
ulations of 86 countries in the world. The parasites can survive withi
n the lysosomal compartments of the host's macrophages, unless those m
acrophages are appropriately activated. Despite the fact that protecti
ve immunity can be induced by vaccination with crude parasite preparat
ions, little progress has been made toward a defined vaccine for human
s. In this study the gene encoding the Leishmania surface proteinase g
p63 was cloned and expressed as a cytoplasmic protein in a bacille Cal
mette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine strain. BALB/c and CBA/J mice were inoculat
ed with a single dose of recombinant BCG and challenged with infective
Leishmania major or Leishmania mexicana promastigotes. Significant pr
otection was observed in both mouse strains against L. mexicana and in
CBA/J against L. major, whereas only a delay in L. major growth was s
een in BALB/c mice. Recombinant BCG also engendered a strong protectiv
e response against challenge with amastigotes of L. mexicana, demonstr
ating that the induced immune response recognized the intracellular fo
rm of the parasite. The results support the view that recombinant BCG
expressing gp63 may prove a useful vaccine for inducing protective cel
l-mediated immune responses to Leishmania species causing American cut
aneous leishmaniasis.