An antibody screen of a Plasmodium vivax antigen library identifies novel merozoite proteins associated with clinical protection

Background. Elimination of Plasmodium vivax malaria would be greatly facilitated by the development of an effective vaccine. A comprehensive and systematic characterization of antibodies to P. vivax antigens in exposed populations is useful in guiding rational vaccine design.
Methodology/Principal Findings. In this study, we investigated antibodies to a large library of P. vivax entire ectodomain merozoite proteins in 2 Asia-Pacific populations, analysing the relationship of antibody levels with markers of current and cumulative malaria exposure, and socioeconomic and clinical indicators. 29 antigenic targets of natural immunity were identified. Of these, 12 highly-immunogenic proteins were strongly associated with age and thus cumulative lifetime exposure in Solomon Islanders (P<0.001-0.027). A subset of 6 proteins, selected on the basis of immunogenicity and expression levels, were used to examine antibody levels in plasma samples from a population of young Papua New Guinean child...

【研究背景】开发有效疫苗将极大推动间日疟（Plasmodium vivax malaria）的消除工作。对暴露人群中针对间日疟原虫（Plasmodium vivax）抗原的抗体进行全面系统的表征，可为合理的疫苗设计提供科学指导。【方法与主要发现】本研究针对2个亚太人群，检测其体内针对间日疟原虫全胞外域裂殖子（merozoite）蛋白大型文库的抗体水平，分析了抗体水平与当前及累积疟疾暴露标志物、社会经济及临床指标之间的关联。本研究共鉴定出29个天然免疫抗原靶点。其中在所罗门群岛居民中，12种高免疫原性蛋白与年龄及终身累积暴露量呈显著相关（P<0.001~0.027）。研究基于免疫原性与表达水平筛选出6种蛋白组成亚组，用于检测巴布亚新几内亚幼儿群体血浆样本中的抗体水平……