Figure 2. Parasite burdens in BALB/c mice vaccinated with cationic liposomal antigens after L. donovani challenge infection.

Mice were vaccinated intraperitoneally 3 times with 2.5 µg of each antigen entrapped in cationic liposomes at 2-week intervals. Control groups received PBS or empty liposomes (Lip). At 10 days after the last immunization, the mice were challenged intravenously with 2.5×10⁷ promastigotes of L. donovani. Liver (A) and spleen (B) parasite burden were measured 3 months after challenge as Leishman Donovan Units (LDU). The results are mean LDU±S.E. of five individual mice per group, representative of two independent experiments with similar results. * p<0.001 in comparison to control groups as assessed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparison test.