Anti-Parasitic Vaccines and Host Immune Responses

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 684

Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Medical Zoology, Kyung Hee University School of Medicine, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea
Interests: vaccines against influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and parasites such as Plasmodium spp. (malaria), Leishmania donovani , Leishmania amazonensis , and Toxoplasma gondii; host immune responses induced by helminth infections with Trichinella spiralis or Clonorchis sinensis
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Parasites pose a significant public health challenge as they are responsible for a wide range of diseases that have considerable global health and economic impacts, particularly in low-income countries. The challenge in developing vaccines against parasites stems from their ability to evade the host’s immune system and the complexity of their antigens. Therefore, further research is essential to prevent parasitic diseases. This Special Issue invites original research articles and review papers. Potential research topics include vaccine antigen design, vaccination strategies, vaccine delivery methods, vaccine efficacy studies, and host immune responses to parasite infections.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Fu-Shi Quan
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • malaria
  • Leishmania donovani
  • Leishmania amazonensis
  • Toxoplasma gondii
  • Trichinella spiralis
  • Clonorchis sinensis

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

28 pages, 3537 KB  
Article
Protective Effect Against Acute Experimental Toxoplasmosis Conferred by Intranasal Immunisation with Toxoplasma gondii Membrane Proteins Plus CpG Adjuvant
by Carina Brito, Daniela Teixeira, Paula Goulart, Beatriz Rodrigues, Nuno Carvalho, Manuel Vilanova, Alexandra Correia and Margarida Borges
Vaccines 2026, 14(6), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines14060539 - 17 Jun 2026
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Abstract
Background: Toxoplasmosis is a prevalent zoonotic disease worldwide, affecting approximately one-third of the global human population. Primary infection with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy can induce miscarriage or congenital infection, leading to irreversible damage to the foetus. Moreover, reactivation of T. gondii infection in [...] Read more.
Background: Toxoplasmosis is a prevalent zoonotic disease worldwide, affecting approximately one-third of the global human population. Primary infection with Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy can induce miscarriage or congenital infection, leading to irreversible damage to the foetus. Moreover, reactivation of T. gondii infection in immunosuppressed individuals can result in fatal outcomes. No vaccine exists to prevent human disease caused by this parasite. Thus, a vaccine that could induce complete and lasting protection against human toxoplasmosis is an unmet need. Method: In this work, BALB/cByJ mice were intranasally immunised with a subunit vaccine consisting of T. gondii membrane proteins (TGMP) from the T. gondii Me49 strain plus CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide adjuvant (CpG). Antibody responses were analysed by ELISA, while T-cell responses were evaluated by flow cytometry. The immunogenic proteins present in TGMP were identified by mass spectrometry, and parasite burden was quantified by qPCR. Result: The results showed raised TGMP-specific serum IgG and intestinal IgA antibody levels, and parasite-specific IFN-γ-producing CD4+ and CD8+ memory T cells. Dense granule proteins (GRA) 2 and 7, surface antigen (SAG)-related sequences 25, 29B, and 34A, microneme protein (MIC) 10, toxofilin, nascent polypeptide-associated complex (NAC) domain-containing protein, and NAC subunit beta were identified as immunogenic proteins. Mice immunised with TGMP+CpG were challenged with T. gondii tachyzoites and showed a significant reduction in the parasitic burden in the peritoneal exudate, spleen, and lungs, compared to mice sham-immunised with CpG alone. Conclusions: Altogether, these results indicate that mucosal immunisation with TGMP plus CpG adjuvant is worth exploring as a vaccination approach to prevent toxoplasmosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-Parasitic Vaccines and Host Immune Responses)
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