Safety and infectivity of female cercariae in Schistosoma-naïve, healthy participants: a controlled human Schistosoma mansoni infection study.
EBioMedicine
; 97: 104832, 2023 Nov.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37837930
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
A controlled human infection model for schistosomiasis (CHI-S) can speed up vaccine development and provides insight into early immune responses following schistosome exposure. Recently, we established CHI-S model using single-sex male-only Schistosoma mansoni (Sm) cercariae in Schistosoma-naïve individuals. Given important differences in antigenic profile and human immune responses to schistosomes of different sex, we pioneered a single-sex female-only CHI-S model for future use in vaccine development.METHODS:
We exposed 13 healthy, Schistosoma-naïve adult participants to 10 (n = 3) or 20 (n = 10) female cercariae and followed for 20 weeks, receiving treatment with praziquantel (PZQ) 60 mg/kg at week 8 and 12 after exposure.FINDINGS:
The majority (11/13) participants reported rash and/or itch at the site of exposure, 5/13 had transient symptoms of acute schistosomiasis. Exposure to 20 cercariae led to detectable infection, defined as serum circulating anodic antigen levels >1.0 pg/mL, in 6/10 participants. Despite two rounds of PZQ treatment, 4/13 participants showed signs of persistent infection. Additional one- or three-day PZQ treatment (1 × 60 mg/kg and 3 × 60 mg/kg) or artemether did not result in cure, but over time three participants self-cured. Antibody, cellular, and cytokine responses peaked at week 4 post infection, with a mixed Th1, Th2, and regulatory profile. Cellular responses were (most) discriminative for symptoms.INTERPRETATION:
Female-only infections exhibit similar clinical and immunological profiles as male-only infections but are more resistant to PZQ treatment. This limits future use of this model and may have important implications for disease control programs.FUNDING:
European Union's Horizon 2020 (grant no. 81564).Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Esquistossomose mansoni
/
Anti-Helmínticos
Limite:
Adult
/
Animals
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
EBioMedicine
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Holanda