Vaccination of mice with KSAC+GLA-SE provides better protection from vector-transmitted <i>L. major</i> than does L110f+GLA-SE.

<p>BALB/c mice were challenged three weeks after the last vaccination in one ear with a needle injection of 2000 purified <i>L. major</i> metacyclics or exposed in one ear to bites of 10 <i>L. major</i>-infected sand flies (<i>P. duboscqi</i>). (A and C) Ear lesion thickness was measured in mice vaccinated with GLA-SE (•), KSAC+GLA-SE (▪), or L110f+GLA-SE (▴) and challenged with needle (A) or infected-sand fly bites (C). Panels show representative ears of vaccinated mice eight weeks after challenge. (B and D) Parasite load determined by Real-Time PCR eight weeks after challenge with needle (B) or infected-sand fly bites (D). Statistical significance was determined for KSAC+GLA-SE- or L110f+GLA-SE-vaccinated mice compared to the GLA-SE-vaccinated mice using a two-tailed, unpaired Student's t-test (*, p<0.05; **, p<0.01; ***, p<0.001). Five to seven mice were used in each group. Data are representative of three independent experiments.