Machine learning framework to extract physicochemical features of B-cell epitopes recognized by a cross-reactive antibody.

ABSTRACT: During infection with Plasmodium falciparum in pregnancy, parasites express a unique virulence factor, VAR2CSA, that mediates binding of infected red blood cells to the placenta. A major goal in designing vaccines to protect pregnant women from malaria is to elicit antibodies to VAR2CSA. The challenge is that VAR2CSA is highly polymorphic and identifying conserved epitopes is essential to elicit strain-transcending immunity. Unexpectedly, a mouse monoclonal antibody, 3D10, raised against region II of the unrelated Duffy binding protein from P. vivax (DBPII) cross-reacts with diverse alleles of VAR2CSA in vitro, suggesting that epitopes may be shared across this family of 'Duffy binding-like' (DBL) proteins. Peptide arrays spanning four DBL proteins from two Plasmodium spp, including two al

SUBMITTER: Grewal S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12491407 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature