Person:
Martínez Rodrigo, Abel

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First Name
Abel
Last Name
Martínez Rodrigo
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/80352
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Veterinaria
Department
Sanidad Animal
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2019 - 201912020 - 20232
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Author: Domínguez Bernal, Gustavo Ramón × Subject: 636.09:615.37 ×

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Strength and medium-term impact of HisAK70 immunization in dogs: Vaccine safety and biomarkers of effectiveness for ex vivo Leishmania infantum infection
    (Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2019) Martínez Rodrigo, Abel; Mas Zubiri, Alicia; Fernández-Cotrina, Javier; Belinchón-Lorenzo, Silvia; Orden Gutiérrez, José Antonio; Arias, Pablo; Fuente López, Ricardo De La; Carrión Herrero, Francisco Javier; Domínguez Bernal, Gustavo Ramón
    HisAK70 candidates have successfully been tested in cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniosis (VL) mouse models. Here, we analyse different biomarkers in dog trials after a heterologous immunization strategy with a HisAK70 candidate (plasmid DNA plus adoptive transfer of peripheral blood-derived dendritic cells (DCs) pulsed with the same pathoantigen and CpG ODN as an adjuvant) to explore the antileishmanial activity in an ex vivo canine co-culture system in the presence of Leishmania infantum parasites. In the canine model, the heterologous HisAK70 vaccine could decrease the infection index in the DC-T cell co-culture system by up to 54% after 30 days and reach almost 67% after 100 days post-immunization, respectively, compared to those obtained in the control group of dogs. The observed security and potential to fight ex vivo L. infantum infection highlight a HisAK70 heterologous immunization strategy as a promising alternative to evaluate its effectiveness against canine VL.
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    Epitope Selection for Fighting Visceral Leishmaniosis: Not All Peptides Function the Same Way
    (Vaccines, 2020) Álvarez-Campos, Daniel; Martínez Rodrigo, Abel; Mas Zubiri, Alicia; Orden Gutiérrez, José Antonio; Domínguez Bernal, Gustavo Ramón; Carrión Herrero, Francisco Javier
    Visceral leishmaniosis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is a disease with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Treatments are expensive, toxic, and ineffective. Therefore, vaccination seems to be a promising approach to control VL. Peptide-based vaccination is a useful method due to its stability, absence of local side effects, and ease of scaling up. In this context, bioinformatics seems to facilitate the use of peptides, as this analysis can predict high binding affinity epitopes to MHC class I and II molecules of different species. We have recently reported the use of HisAK70 DNA immunization in mice to induce a resistant phenotype against L. major, L. infantum, and L. amazonensis infections. In the present study, we used bioinformatics tools to select promising multiepitope peptides (HisDTC and AK) from the polyprotein encoded in the HisAK70 DNA to evaluate their immunogenicity in the murine model of VL by L. infantum. Our results revealed that both multiepitope peptides were able to induce the control of VL in mice. Furthermore, HisDTC was able to induce a better cell-mediated immune response in terms of reduced parasite burden, protective cytokine profile, leishmanicidal enzyme modulation, and specific IgG2a isotype production in immunized mice, before and after infectious challenge. Overall, this study indicates that the HisDTC chimera may be considered a satisfactory tool to control VL because it is able to activate a potent CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell protective immune responses.
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    A Tailored Approach to Leishmaniases Vaccination: Comparative Evaluation of the Efficacy and Cross-Protection Capacity of DNA vs. Peptide-Based Vaccines in a Murine Model
    (International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023) Mas Zubiri, Alicia; Hurtado Morillas, Clara; Martínez Rodrigo, Abel; Orden Gutiérrez, José Antonio; Fuente López, Ricardo De La; Domínguez Bernal, Gustavo Ramón; Carrión Herrero, Francisco Javier
    Zoonotic leishmaniases are a worldwide public health problem for which the development of effective vaccines remains a challenge. A vaccine against leishmaniases must be safe and affordable and should induce cross-protection against the different disease-causing species. In this context, the DNA vaccine pHisAK70 has been demonstrated to induce, in a murine model, a resistant phenotype against L. major, L. infantum, and L. amazonensis. Moreover, a chimeric multiepitope peptide, HisDTC, has been obtained by in silico analysis from the histone proteins encoded in the DNA vaccine and has showed its ability to activate a potent CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell protective immune response in mice against L. infantum infection. In the present study, we evaluated the plasmid DNA vaccine pHisAK70 in comparison with the peptide HisDTC (with and without saponin) against L. major and L. infantum infection. Our preliminary results showed that both formulations were able to induce a potent cellular response leading to a decrease in parasite load against L. infantum. In addition, the DNA candidate was able to induce better lesion control in mice against L. major. These preliminary results indicate that both strategies are potentially effective candidates for leishmaniases control. Furthermore, it is important to carry out such comparative studies to elucidate which vaccine candidates are the most appropriate for further development.