Figure 4
Route of adjuvant formulation delivery affects disease pathology in a murine model of L. donovani infection. (A) Groups of five mice were immunised via intraperitoneal, subcutaneous or intramuscular routes of injection with a control protein expressed in a mammalian expression system adsorbed to 1% or 0.5% alum. Mice were challenged intravenously with 108 stationary-phase parasites, and an unimmunised mouse is present within each group (identified by red arrows) as a control. Infections were monitored by IVIS after 1 week and those immunised in the peritoneal cavity showed a reduction in parasite burden compared to the naïve control mice and those immunised by subcutaneous and intramuscular routes. (B,C) Groups of five mice were immunised via intraperitoneal or subcutaneous routes of injection with control protein adsorbed to 1% alum, challenged intravenously with 108 stationary-phase parasites and infections monitored compared to unimmunised naïve mice by in vivo imaging for 13 weeks. Bioluminescence (total flux, photon/sec) was quantified around defined regions of interest overlying the liver (B) and spleen (C) for naïve (black circles), subcutaneously-immunised (white circles) or intraperitoneally-immunised (red circles) animals. Data points represent means ± S.E.M. (n = 5). Relative bioluminescence was calculated by arbitrary normalisation to signals at week 2 (liver) and week 12 (spleen) of subcutaneously-immunised animals.
