The University of Connecticut announced in September 2024 that a $3.8 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will support efforts to develop universal vaccine candidates for leptospirosis. Assistant Professor Elsio Wunder, from the Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources (CAHNR), will work with colleagues to tackle the animal-borne disease. Leptospirosis is a “neglected disease” with no worldwide approved vaccine.
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the Leptospira bacteria, found in contaminated water or soil. It affects animals and people, and if left untreated in humans can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, breathing difficulty, or death. An estimated 1 million human cases occur globally each year, causing around 60,000 deaths annually. The disease is considered “neglected” because it “typically impacts poorer communities and individuals who lack access to adequate sanitation”. Neglected diseases tend to receive less attention and funding than other diseases. However, researchers like Dr Wunder are hoping to “correct this public health injustice”.
A big investment
Dr Wunder has a background in veterinary and human health and has focused on improving diagnostic and prevention mechanism for leptospirosis. The latest award will support these efforts.
“It’s a big investment from the NIH. I’m very grateful. The fact that you have this major investment in a neglected disease is a really big step.”
The team involves researchers from Yale University, the University of California-Irvine, and Serimmune, bringing “strong and diverse expertise” from various fields. They will spend five years developing vaccine candidates and testing them in animal models, hoping to find a viable candidate that is ready for testing in human clinical trials.
Universal focus
The project focuses specifically on developing a universal leptospirosis vaccine, which could be used in “any epidemiological setting in the world” and protect against disease “no matter which strain is circulating in the area”. To do this, the researchers will need to understand more about leptospirosis causing illness. Dr Wunder’s previous research produced an attenuated leptospirosis vaccine, which produces immune responses for specific strains, rather than multiple variants. However, the work behind this vaccine revealed that the bacteria’s proteins are a key target.
In the new project, Dr Wunder and collaborators will pursue a multi-recombinant protein vaccine. Vaccine development for leptospirosis is “very hard” and bacteria have “so many tools to evade host immune defences”. Therefore, the researchers have tried to use several proteins at once. The goal is to create a vaccine with small and relevant elements of these recombinant proteins and ensure that the vaccine can be produced and distributed cheaply. This would enable the best public health effect for people who suffer the greatest burden of the disease. Alongside the project, Dr Wunder will maintain his research and teaching at CAHNR.
“I teach a class that’s an introduction to pathobiology and a mix of basic and translational research, and how important translational research is to improve life for people – in terms of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics. But in order to have translational research, you do need basic science. And this grant is very much a mix of both.”
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#ONEHEALTH. Veterinarians helping on human leptospira bacterin.