An immunomics approach to schistosome antigen discovery: antibody signatures of naturally resistant and chronically infected individuals from endemic areas

PLoS Pathog. 2014 Mar 27;10(3):e1004033. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004033. eCollection 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that is responsible for almost 300,000 deaths annually. Mass drug administration (MDA) is used worldwide for the control of schistosomiasis, but chemotherapy fails to prevent reinfection with schistosomes, so MDA alone is not sufficient to eliminate the disease, and a prophylactic vaccine is required. Herein, we take advantage of recent advances in systems biology and longitudinal studies in schistosomiasis endemic areas in Brazil to pilot an immunomics approach to the discovery of schistosomiasis vaccine antigens. We selected mostly surface-derived proteins, produced them using an in vitro rapid translation system and then printed them to generate the first protein microarray for a multi-cellular pathogen. Using well-established Brazilian cohorts of putatively resistant (PR) and chronically infected (CI) individuals stratified by the intensity of their S. mansoni infection, we probed arrays for IgG subclass and IgE responses to these antigens to detect antibody signatures that were reflective of protective vs. non-protective immune responses. Moreover, probing for IgE responses allowed us to identify antigens that might induce potentially deleterious hypersensitivity responses if used as subunit vaccines in endemic populations. Using multi-dimensional cluster analysis we showed that PR individuals mounted a distinct and robust IgG1 response to a small set of newly discovered and well-characterized surface (tegument) antigens in contrast to CI individuals who mounted strong IgE and IgG4 responses to many antigens. Herein, we show the utility of a vaccinomics approach that profiles antibody responses of resistant individuals in a high-throughput multiplex approach for the identification of several potentially protective and safe schistosomiasis vaccine antigens.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Helminth / blood*
  • Antibodies, Helminth / immunology
  • Antigens, Helminth / immunology*
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Chronic Disease
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Disease Resistance / immunology*
  • Endemic Diseases
  • Female
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neglected Diseases / immunology
  • Protein Array Analysis
  • Schistosomiasis / blood
  • Schistosomiasis / epidemiology
  • Schistosomiasis / immunology*
  • Vaccines / immunology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antibodies, Helminth
  • Antigens, Helminth
  • Vaccines

Grants and funding

This work was funded by project and program grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). AL and DLD are supported by NHMRC principal research fellowships. DPM is supported by an NHMRC senior principal research fellowship; MSP is supported by an NHMRC CJ Martin postdoctoral fellowship. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.