A historical and systematic overview of Ascaris vaccine development

Abstract

Ascariasis is the most prevalent helminth infection in the world and leads to significant, life-long morbidity, particularly in young children. Current efforts to control and eradicate ascariasis in endemic regions have been met with significant challenges including high-rates of re-infection and potential development of anthelminthic drug resistance. Vaccines against ascariasis are a key tool that could break the transmission cycle and lead to disease eradication globally. Evolution of the Ascaris vaccine pipeline has progressed, however no vaccine product has been brought to human clinical trials to date. Advancement in recombinant protein technology may provide the first step in generating an Ascaris vaccine as well as a pan-helminthic vaccine ready for human trials. However, several roadblocks remain and investment in new technologies will be important to develop a successful human Ascaris vaccine that is critically needed to prevent significant morbidity in Ascaris-endemic regions around the world.

Keywords: Ascariasis; helminths; recombinant proteins; vaccine development.

Graphical abstract

Fig. 1.

Geographic distribution of Ascaris-associated DALYs per 100 000 from the Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network, 2019. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Seattle, United States, 2020 (http://www.healthdata.org/results/gbd_summaries/2019/ascariasis-level-4-cause).

Fig. 2.

Years of life lost (YLL) and years of healthy life lost to disability (YLD) from ascariasis globally from the Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network, 2019. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Seattle, United States, 2020 (http://www.healthdata.org/results/gbd_summaries/2019/ascariasis-level-4-cause).

Fig. 3.

Timeline of Ascaris targets and animal models used in the Ascaris vaccine development process. To date there have been no vaccine candidates that have moved from pre-clinical animal models into human clinical trials. Created with BioRender.com.