Leish-F1 Multi-epitope Lentiviral Vaccine as a Novel Candidate Against Leishmania major in Balb/c Mice

The growing trend of Leishmania major (L. major) infections around the world has raised global concerns due to the lack of efficient vaccines and antiparasitic drugs. In addition, the drug resistance crisis and side effects of chemotherapy remain to be addressed. In the present study, the designed multi-epitope lentiviral vaccine from Leish-F1 (consisting of TSA, Leif, LmSTI1 proteins) was produced. For this purpose, multi-epitope construct was sub-cloned into the pCDH513 lentiviral vector, previously designed in silico. Subsequently, to produce a recombinant lentivirus, PCDH513B-Leish-F1 vector was co-transfected with packaging vectors into HEK293T cells. In order to confirm the gene expression, Western blot technique was performed. Finally, to evaluate the immune responses, the vaccine containing Leish-F1 selected epitopes, and two control groups, phosphate-buffered saline and lentivirus without multiepitope, were injected twice into the Balb/c mice. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method deciphered that the vaccinated group had a higher level of IFN (interferon)-γ and IL (interleukin)-4 levels compared to control groups (p < 0.05). Also, the IgG2a and IgG1 antibodies showed a significant increase in the main groups (p < 0.05). The results revealed that the immunization of the Balb/c mice using a multi-epitope lentiviral vaccine led to the stimulation of humoral and cellular responses.