Vaccine prospects of killed but metabolically active Leishmania against visceral leishmaniasis

Abstract

Leishmanization or live vaccination, the gold standard for immunoprophylactic success against cutaneous leishmaniasis, has been abandoned for safety reasons. Killed but metabolically active (KBMA) Leishmania, a new class of whole-cell vaccine, holds promise for safe vaccination. Amotosalen (S-59)-treated and UVA-irradiated Leishmania major and Leishmania infantum chagasi (KBMA-Lic) were rendered replication-incompetent and incapable of causing disease; this was demonstrated convincingly by sensitive techniques. However, the immune response and the level of protection elicited by vaccination with both live Lic and KBMA-Lic in BALB/c mice are less than optimal and warrant further studies to establish their potentiality as an effective vaccine strategy against visceral leishmaniasis.

Keywords::

• killed but metabolically active
• killed parasites
• Leishmania infantum chagasi
• leishmaniasis
• vaccine

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported by research grants from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (Government of India). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.