New vaccine platforms are crucial to address complex parasitic
infections such as cutaneous leishmaniasis. Self-amplifying mRNA (SAM)
based vaccines represent the next generation nucleic acid-based
platform. In the present study, we compared the expression levels of
PpSP15-LmSTI1 fusion gene in BHK-21 cells following transfection with
Semliki Forest virus (SFV)-derived SAM, SFV-derived plasmid DNA
(pSFV-PD) and conventional plasmid DNA (pcDNA3.1+). PpSP15-LmSTI1 fusion
gene expression levels were evaluated at different time points, using
quantitative Real-time PCR. All data were validated and normalized by
two internal control genes. According to the results, mean values of
relative expression were significantly higher for SFV-PD SAM/fusion than
pcDNA/fusion and pSFV-PD/fusion at all concentrations and time points.
Our results showed that higher levels of PpSp15-LmSTI1 antigen
expression could be achieved using a SAM vector than pcDNA and pSFV-PD,
making it a valuable and efficient alternative to conventional plasmid
DNA-based vaccines against leishmaniasis.