Identification of Immunodominant Proteins of the <i>Leishmania (Viannia) naiffi</i> SubProteome as Pan-Specific Vaccine Targets against Leishmaniasis
Prisciliana Jesus-Oliveira,
Luzinei Silva-Couto,
Nathalia Pinho,
André Teixeira Da Silva-Ferreira,
Leonardo Saboia-Vahia,
Patricia Cuervo,
Alda Maria Da-Cruz,
Adriano Gomes-Silva,
Eduardo Fonseca Pinto
Affiliations
Prisciliana Jesus-Oliveira
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Luzinei Silva-Couto
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Nathalia Pinho
Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmanioses, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
André Teixeira Da Silva-Ferreira
Laboratorio of Toxinologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Leonardo Saboia-Vahia
Laboratório de Vírus Respiratórios e Sarampo, Laboratório de Referência para COVID-19 (World Health Organization), Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Patricia Cuervo
Laboratório de Pesquisa em Leishmanioses, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Alda Maria Da-Cruz
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Adriano Gomes-Silva
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Eduardo Fonseca Pinto
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Pesquisas Médicas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
Leishmaniasis is a wide-spectrum disease caused by parasites from Leishmania genus. A well-modulated immune response that is established after the long-lasting clinical cure of leishmaniasis can represent a standard requirement for a vaccine. Previous studies demonstrated that Leishmania (Viannia) naiffi causes benign disease and its antigens induce well-modulated immune responses in vitro. In this work we aimed to identify the immunodominant proteins present in the soluble extract of L. naiffi (sLnAg) as candidates for composing a pan-specific anti-leishmaniasis vaccine. After immunoblotting using cured patients of cutaneous leishmaniasis sera and proteomics approaches, we identified a group of antigenic proteins from the sLnAg. In silico analyses allowed us to select mildly similar proteins to the host; in addition, we evaluated the binding potential and degree of promiscuity of the protein epitopes to HLA molecules and to B-cell receptors. We selected 24 immunodominant proteins from a sub-proteome with 328 proteins. Homology analysis allowed the identification of 13 proteins with the most orthologues among seven Leishmania species. This work demonstrated the potential of these proteins as promising vaccine targets capable of inducing humoral and cellular pan-specific immune responses in humans, which may in the future contribute to the control of leishmaniasis.