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ANTIGENICITY, IMMUNOGENICITY, AND PROTECTIVE EFFICACY OF PLASMODIUM VIVAX MSP1 PV200L: A POTENTIAL MALARIA VACCINE SUBUNIT

The merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1) is expressed in all Plasmodium species and is considered a major malaria vaccine candidate. We found that MSP-1 from Plasmodium vivax (PvMSP-1) contains a region of significant sequence homology with the 190L subunit vaccine derived from the P. falciparum MSP-1. The fragment, termed Pv200L, was expressed as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli (rPv200L) and used to asses its immunologic relevance as a vaccine target. A cross-sectional, seroepidemiologic study conducted in Buenaventura, Colombia showed that 52.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 39.8–64.3) of individuals previously exposed to P. vivax and 72.8% (95% CI = 61.8–82.1) of P. vivax–infected patients had IgG antibodies to rPv200L. Immunization of BALB/c mice and Aotus monkeys induced IgG antibodies (titer > 10⁶) that cross-reacted with P. vivax parasites. Immunized monkeys displayed partial protection against a challenge with P. vivax blood stages. Our results suggest that Pv200L is a new malaria vaccine subunit and deserves further testing.

Received May 13, 2005. Accepted for publication July 29, 2005.

Acknowledgments: We thank the volunteers from Buenaventura, La Delfina, and Cali for supporting this research. We also thank Esmeralda Vargas-Serrato for her earlier work on this topic, which served as a good starting point. We deeply acknowledge the contribution of Suzanne Fischer and Mario Chen from Family Health International for assistance writing, editing, and finalizing this manuscript.

Financial support: This work was supported by the U.S. National Institutes of Health under contract National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Tropical Medicine Research Centers no. AI-49486-02, the UNDP/World Bank/World Health Organization/TDR Special Program, and the Instituto Colombiano Francisco Jose de Caldas para el Avance de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (COLCIENCIAS).

^* Address correspondence to Sócrates Herrera, Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center, Carrera 35 # 4A-53, AA 26020, Cali, Colombia. E-mail: sherrera{at}inmuno.org

Authors’ addresses: Augusto Valderrama-Aguirre, Gustavo Quintero, Andrés Gómez, Alejandro Castellanos, Yobana Pérez, Fabián Méndez, Myriam Arévalo-Herrera, and Sócrates Herrera, Instituto de Inmunología, Calle 4B # 36-00, Edificio de Microbiología, 3er Piso, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Sede San Fernando, AA 25574, Cali, Colombia, Telephone: 57-2-558-1931, Fax: 57-2-557-0449 and Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center, Carrera 35 # 4A-53, AA 26020, Cali, Colombia, Telephone: 57-2-558-3937, Fax: 57-2-556-0141, E-mail: sherrera{at}inmuno.org.

Reprint requests: Sócrates Herrera, Malaria Vaccine and Drug Development Center, Carrera 35 # 4A-53, AA 26020, Cali, Colombia.