Protective immunity in mice vaccinated with a novel elastase-1 significantly decreases Trichinella spiralis fecundity and infection

Trichinella spiralis is an important foodborne parasitic nematode that represents an enormous threat to the food safety of pork meat. The development of a preventive vaccine is valuable for the prevention and control of Trichinella infection in domestic pigs to ensure pork safety. Elastase is a trypsin-like serine protease that hydrolyzes the host’s diverse tissue components and participates in parasite penetration, and it might be a novel vaccine target molecule. The aim of this study was to assess the protective immunity produced by vaccination with a novel Trichinella spiralis elastase-1 (TsE) in a mouse model. The results demonstrate that subcutaneous vaccination of mice with rTsE elicited a systemic humoral response (high levels of serum IgG and subclass IgG1/IgG2a and IgA) and significant local enteral mucosal sIgA responses. Anti-rTsE IgG recognized the native TsE at the cuticle, stichosome of intestinal infective larvae and adult worm (AW), and intrauterine embryos of female AW. The rTsE vaccination also produced a systemic and local mixed Th1/Th2 response, as demonstrated by clear elevation levels of Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2) and Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) after spleen, mesenteric lymph node and Peyer’s patch cells from immunized mice were stimulated with rTsE. The immunized mice exhibited a 52.19% reduction in enteral AW and a 64.06% reduction in muscle larvae after challenge infection. The immune response triggered by rTsE vaccination protected enteral mucosa from larval intrusion, suppressed larval development and reduced female fecundity. The results indicate that TsE may represent a novel target molecule for anti-T. spiralis vaccines.