Doctorate with honours for Leroy Versteeg's research into Chagas disease vaccination

Chagas disease is a so-called neglected tropical disease caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The disease currently lacks an effective vaccine. It affects an estimated 6 to 7 million people worldwide, primarily in Central and South America, leading to 10,000 to 50,000 deaths annually.

Vaccine development

Versteeg’s research focussed on improving existing techniques to evaluate vaccine-induced immune responses. Furthermore, he provided new insights into the immune mechanisms by which the vaccine candidate Tc24 offers partial protection against T. cruzi. Of the thousands of proteins produced by the T. cruzi parasite, only a select few are displayed on the surface of infected cells, where they can be recognized and targeted by immune cells capable of destroying these infected cells. These parasitic proteins are key targets for vaccine development, yet identifying them has been a challenge.

By employing immunopeptidomics, a method used to analyse peptides presented on the surface of cells, Versteeg identified heat shock protein Tcj2 as a promising new vaccine candidate for Chagas disease. When tested as an mRNA vaccine, Tcj2 stimulated the desired immune cell responses, which effectively limited parasite replication in an in vitro model, demonstrating its significant potential as a future vaccine candidate for Chagas disease.

Collaboration

Versteeg’s findings are described in his thesis entitled "Advancing Vaccine Research for Chagas Disease: Mitigating Parasitic Infections Using State-of-the-Art Technology". This PhD project was a collaborative effort between the Cell Biology and Immunology group at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.