Analysis of the efficacy of recombinant phage-ZR8 in the vaccination process in mice infected with S. brasiliensis

• Grant number: 24/15557-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Sandro Rogerio de Almeida
• Grantee: Paula Portella Della Terra
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/11944-9 - Ssporotrichosis and Chromoblastomycosis: development of vaccines based on immunogenic peptides and determination of immunological markers of protection, AP.TEM

Abstract

Since 1998, the incidence of sporotrichosis in our country has grown exponentially, with alarming numbers. Human cases of the disease linked to zoonotic transmission by felines have been described in Rio de Janeiro, and have spread to other regions of the country, such as São Paulo, Espírito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul, characterizing an epidemic. This outbreak is directly related to the species S. brasiliensis, which occurs exclusively in Brazil and has spread to Argentina, and is the most virulent and worrisome species of the clinical clade of Sporothrix. These data reinforce the hypothesis that sporotrichosis is out of control in our country and is spreading rapidly to other countries. Therefore, the implementation of methods to contain sporotrichosis, such as a vaccine for felines, is of utmost importance today.Several diseases have been eradicated with the use of vaccines, and the lack of knowledge about the protective mechanisms for their development against fungi is still a challenge due to the genetic complexity of fungi. Therefore, this project aims to develop a vaccine against sporotrichosis using a phage antigen delivery system, which is known to promote a strong immune response and stabilize the vaccine candidate antigen. We will use the ZR8 peptide, based on the GP70 sequence, previously identified as protective in the murine subcutaneous infection model by S. brasiliensis, with the aim of developing a vaccine for felines. There is still no efficient vaccine against sporotrichosis, making this proposal relevant for evaluating it against the main vector of the disease, which is relevant in the current epidemic in the country. Therefore, by obtaining unbiased and high-coverage vaccine tests, we hope to identify a vaccine candidate that achieves the satisfactory level of protection defined by the WHO in mice, and thus move on to testing in feline models.