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- Title
SmTAL-9, a Member of the Schistosoma mansoni Tegument Allergen-Like Family, Is Important for Parasite Survival and a Putative Target for Drug/Vaccine Development.
- Authors
Patrícia de Oliveira Santos Bernardes, Wilma; Xavier Dutra, Isabela Thamara; Aparecida da Silva-Pereira, Rosiane; Moraes Mourão, Marina; Toscano Fonseca, Cristina
- Abstract
The tegument of Schistosoma mansoni is involved in essential functions for parasite survival and is known to stimulate immune responses in pre-clinical vaccine trials. Smtal-9, a member of the tegument-allergen-like (TAL) family, is one of the components of the tegument of schistosomula recognized by sera from immunized and protected mice. In this work, we assessed the role of Smtal-9 in parasite survival using the RNAi approach. Also, we cloned and expressed a recombinant form of Smtal-9 and evaluated its ability to induce protection in mice. Smtal-9 knockdown did not impact parasite survival in vitro, but significantly decreased schistosomula size. Additionally, significant reduction in both parasite and egg burdens were observed in mice inoculated with Smtal-9-knockdown schistosomula. Immunization using the Smtal-9 as an antigen conferred partial protection against challenge infection. Overall, our results indicate that Smtal-9 is a candidate target for drug and/or vaccine development due to its important role in parasite biology and survival.
- Publication
Frontiers in Immunology, 2022, Vol 13, p1
- ISSN
1664-3224
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fimmu.2022.889645