Targeting Strategies in Therapeutic Applications of Toxoplasmosis: Recent Advances in Liposomal Vaccine Delivery Systems

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is a prevalent parasitic pathogen that infected over one-third of the global population. Toxoplasmosis is diagnosed by isolating the parasite and detecting host antibodies. In contrast, the main problem with diagnosis relates to the sensitivity and specificity of the tests. Currently, treatment with pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine is recommended, despite their side effects and toxicity to humans. Moreover, the absence of a vaccine to completely protect against this infection is the main obstacle to the effective treatment and prevention of toxoplasmosis. Recently, nanoparticles and nanomaterials have been studied as delivery systems for the immunization and treatment of T. gondii infections. One of the most important applications of liposomes is drug and vaccine delivery, due to their biodegradability, low inherent toxicity, and immunogenicity. Liposomes are flexible delivery systems and immunological adjuvants able not only to load diverse antigens, such as proteins, peptides, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates but also to combine them with immunostimulators. Liposomes have the incredible potential within the development of modern types of vaccines and numerous endeavors have been made to improve the effectiveness of vaccines in recent years. In this review, we concentrate on the viable targeting strategies of liposome-based vaccine delivery systems to prevent, control and treat toxoplasmosis.