Immunization with <i>L. lactis</i>/cwaLACK and <i>L. lactis</i>/secIL-12 delays footpad swelling and reduces parasite burden in <i>L. major</i> infected BALB/c mice.

<p>Mice were immunized three times subcutaneously with PBS or different strains of <i>L. lactis</i> and challenged with <i>L. major</i> promastigotes into the right hind footpad. (A) Change in footpad swelling post-infection was determined by measuring the thickness of the infected footpad and subtracting the thickness of the contralateral, uninfected footpad at weekly intervals. Animals were sacrificed ten weeks after parasite challenge and parasite burden in infected footpads was determined by (B) PCR-ELISA or (C) limiting dilution. Mean and SEM of four to five mice per group are shown. * <i>P</i><0.05; ** <i>P</i><0.01 by unpaired T-test to PBS and <i>L. lactis</i>/vector. ^▴<i>P</i><0.05 by unpaired T-test to PBS. Data shown are representative of three (A), one (B), or two (C) independent experiments with similar results.