Cystic echinococcosis (CE), a complex and neglected zoonotic infectious disease, is mainly caused by larval tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus with a worldwide distribution. For CE, an effective drug treatment is not yet available. The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of hMASP-2-based immunotherapy against hydatid cysts by using murine model. Eighteen weeks after infection with 2000 viable protoscoleces intraperitoneally, the infected mice were treated with hMASP-2 DNA nanolipoplexes (pcDNA3.1-hMASP-2) and albendazole respectively. After six weeks treatment, a significant reduction in the weight of cysts was observed both in the pcDNA3.1-hMASP-2 group and albendazole group compared with the untreated group (P < 0.05). The hMASP-2 DNA nanolipoplexes not only inhibited the development of germinal layer, but also induced the extensive degeneration and damage of the germinal layer cells. Furthermore, compared with the untreated group, the number of CD4⁺T cells and CD8⁺T cells and the level of serum IFN-γ were significantly increased (P < 0.05). The frequency of PD-1⁺T-cell subpopulations including CD4⁺PD-1⁺T cells and CD8⁺PD-1⁺T cells and the level of serum IL-4 were notably decreased (P < 0.05) in the pcDNA3.1-hMASP-2 treatment group. Therefore, the hMASP-2 DNA nanolipoplexes displayed an effective treatment for echinococcosis through inhibiting the development of cysts and up-regulatory T-cell immunity. This new hMASP-2-based immunotherapeutic strategy could be a potential alternative for the treatment of CE, but further studies are recommended to evaluate the full potential of these hMASP-2 DNA nanolipoplexes in the treatment of human CE.

囊性棘球co病（CE）是一种复杂而被忽视的人畜共患病传染病，主要是由幼虫tape虫细粒棘球caused虫引起的遍布全球。对于CE，尚无有效的药物治疗方法。本研究旨在通过使用鼠模型评估基于hMASP-2的免疫疗法对包虫囊肿的疗效。腹膜内感染2000只活菌后18周，分别用hMASP-2 DNA纳米脂质复合物（pcDNA3.1-hMASP-2）和阿苯达唑治疗感染的小鼠。治疗六周后，与未治疗组相比，pcDNA3.1-hMASP-2组和阿苯达唑组均观察到囊肿重量显着减少（P <0.05）。hMASP-2 DNA纳米脂质复合物不仅抑制发芽层的发育，而且诱导了发芽层细胞的广泛变性和损伤。此外，与未治疗组相比，CD4的数量⁺ T细胞和CD8 ⁺ T细胞以及血清IFN-γ的水平显着升高（P  <0.05）。包括CD4 ⁺ PD-1 ⁺ T细胞和CD8 ⁺ PD-1 ⁺ T细胞在内的PD-1 ⁺ T细胞亚群的频率和血清IL-4水平显着降低（P <0.05）在pcDNA3.1-hMASP-2治疗组中。因此，hMASP-2 DNA纳米脂质体通过抑制囊肿的发展和上调T细胞免疫性，显示出对棘球菌病有效的治疗方法。这种新的基于hMASP-2的免疫治疗策略可能是治疗CE的潜在替代方法，但建议进行进一步的研究以评估这些hMASP-2 DNA纳米脂质复合物在治疗人CE中的全部潜力。