Toward development of a Taenia solium paramyosin-based vaccine against porcine cysticercosis

Taenia solium paramyosin (TPmy) is a prominent 100 kDa antigen in human and porcine cysticercosis. TPmy is an alpha-helical coiled coil protein present in muscle and tegumentary structures of T. solium cysticerci. TPmy has the property of binding C1q resulting in inhibition of the complement cascade. TPmy probably binds C1q through its collagen-like domains and could be involved in a parasite strategy to modulate host immune response. Humoral immune response against TPmy is prefrentially directed against carboxyl terminal end in humans and mice, whereas amino terminal end of TPmy preferentially induces a Th1-related cellular immune response. Protection studies in murine model of cysticercosis showed that the amino terminal end fragment of TPmy induces approximately 60% protection against an i.p. challenge with Taenia crassiceps cysts when mice are immunized with recombinant fragments of TPmy. Initial protection studies using genetic immunization showed that amino terminal end fragment of TPmy cloned into a plasmid expression vector with a cytomegalovirus promoter, together with IL-12-expressing plasmids induced 79% protection, suggesting that this kind of TPmy-immunization might result in development of a cost-effective vaccine against cysticercosis.