DNA Vaccine Treatment in Dogs Experimentally Infected with Trypanosoma cruzi
Table 1
Study design for dogs experimentally infected with T. cruzi and treated with DNA vaccine containing the genes encoding a trans-sialidase protein (pBCSP), an amastigote-specific glycoprotein (pBCSSP4), or both as a mixture.
Group
Group description ()
Plasmid used as immunotherapy
Healthy
Control noninfected/nontreated ()
None
Infected/SS mock-treated
Positive control of infection with saline solution mock-treated ()
None
pBCSSP4
Infected and pBCSSP4 plasmid-treated ()
Construct derived from the pBK-CMV vector with T. cruzi amastigote-specific glycoprotein TcSSP4 gene
pBCSP
Infected and pBCSP plasmid-treated ()
Construct derived from the pBK-CMV vector with T. cruzi trans-sialidase TcSP gene
Mixture
Infected and treated with both the pBCSSP4 and pBCSP plasmids ()
pBCSSP4 and pBCSP plasmids carrying both genes
pBK-CMV
Infected and empty cloning vector plasmid-treated ()
Empty vector control of the plasmid DNA
The pBCSSP4, pBCSP, mixture, and pBK-CMV groups were treated thrice at 15-day intervals 15 days after the infection; SS was administered under this same scheme in the infected/SS mock-treated group.