A Leishmania infantum multi-component antigenic protein mixed with live BCG confers protection to dogs experimentally infected with L. infantum

The capacity of a quimeric protein, formed by the genetic fusion of five antigenic determinants from four Leishmania proteins, formulated with BCG, to protect dogs against Leishmania infantum infection is described. The data showed that after i.v. administration of 500,000 parasites of the L. infantum M/CAN/ES/96/BCN150 strain, zymodeme MON-1, the animals became infected as suggested by the humoral response against the parasite antigens. All control unvaccinated dogs had parasites in the lymph nodes at day 150 post-infection. One of these unvaccinated infected dog was parasite negative at day 634 behaving, thus, as resistant. In contrast, only 50% of the immunized dogs had parasites in the lymph nodes at day 150 post-infection. Four of these dogs became parasite negative by day 634 post-infection. The control animals developed at various times during the follow-up period clinical symptoms associated with Leishmaniasis. The control diseased dogs developed also in the liver and spleen some of the abnormal histological features associated with natural visceral Leishmaniasis. The immunized dogs, however, were not only normal at the clinical but also at the anatomo-pathological level. A positive delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response was observed in nine of the immunized protected dogs. The data indicated that Q+BCG confers 90% protection against infection and at least 90% protection at the clinical level.