Profile of T-bet and GATA3 transcription factors in response to nucleoside hydrolase (NH36) epitopes in dogs with Visceral Leishmaniasis

• Grant number: 25/03897-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Cellular Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Valéria Marçal Felix de Lima
• Grantee: Rebeca Furlan Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease endemic to Brazil, with domestic dogs serving as the main urban reservoir for Leishmania infantum. An essential strategy to modulate the immune response and reduce the parasitic load is vaccination, as it stimulates the response of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells with the production of IFN-¿, IL-2, and TNF-¿. Recent studies have explored vaccines based on protein domains and nucleoside hydrolase NH36 epitopes of Leishmania spp., capable of enhancing the protective immune response in human cell assays, though their immunogenicity in dogs remains unknown. T-bet and GATA-3 are key regulators for the development of Th1 and Th2 cells, interacting with each other and influencing cell differentiation, shaping the host response and the clinical outcome of the infection. This study aims to establish the profile of these transcription factors in peripheral blood T lymphocytes and the production of the cytokines IFN-¿, IL-10, and IL-12 in the supernatant of lymphocyte cultures after stimulation with different nucleoside hydrolase NH36 epitopes of Leishmania spp. in infected dogs.