PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Uzonna, Jude E.
AU  - Späth, Gerald F.
AU  - Beverley, Stephen M.
AU  - Scott, Phillip
TI  - Vaccination with Phosphoglycan-Deficient <em>Leishmania major</em> Protects Highly Susceptible Mice from Virulent Challenge without Inducing a Strong Th1 Response
AID  - 10.4049/jimmunol.172.6.3793
DP  - 2004 Mar 15
TA  - The Journal of Immunology
PG  - 3793--3797
VI  - 172
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jimmunol.org/content/172/6/3793.short
4100  - http://www.jimmunol.org/content/172/6/3793.full
SO  - J. Immunol.2004 Mar 15; 172
AB  - Long-term immunity to Leishmania may require the continued presence of parasites, but previous attempts to create attenuated parasites that persist without causing disease have had limited success. Since Leishmania major mutants that lack lipophosphoglycan and other secreted phosphoglycans, termed lpg2−, persist indefinitely in infected mice without inducing any disease, we tested their ability to provide protection to virulent L. major challenge. In response to leishmanial Ag stimulation, cells from lpg2−-infected mice produced minimal levels of IL-4 and IL-10, as well as very low levels of IFN-γ. Nevertheless, when BALB/c mice infected with lpg2− parasites were challenged with virulent L. major they were protected from disease. Thus, these findings report on attenuated parasites that may be used to induce long-term protection against leishmaniasis and indicate that the immunity induced can be maintained in the absence of a strong Th1 response.