Vaccine development for Chagas Disease

Abstract

Numerous immunization approaches against Trypanosoma cruzi infection have been tested for decades, ranging from parasite extracts to genetically engineered parasites, and although some of them showed promising efficacy in animal models, a safe and potent vaccine for human use is not available today. Part of the problem in obtaining such a vaccine may be due to the inherent complexity of the parasite and also to our incomplete understanding of the immune response mounted against the infection. Considerable progress has been achieved in recent years toward unraveling the biology of the parasite by genetic manipulation; however, fundamental questions remain to be elucidated. Here we describe the immune mechanisms involved in protection that have been established by experimental immunization, as well as the most notorious immunogens tested with emphasis on T. cruzi targeted-deletion mutants which are currently under intense development. Despite the sometimes limited success and the gaps in our knowledge, the quest for developing a vaccine against T. cruzi infection remains as a crucial step in the fight against this largely neglected disease affecting predominantly the poorest people from the Americas.