Genetic signatures of  Plasmodium vivax Circumsporozoite Surface Protein during malaria resurgence in Thailand.

ABSTRACT: The Plasmodium circumsporozoite surface protein (CSP) is the best characterized pre-erythrocytic vaccine target for malaria. It is a multifunctional protein important for sporozoite mobility, mosquito salivary gland invasion, and hepatocyte invasion. We analyzed diversity of  Plasmodium vivax CSP gene (pvcsp) during the 2022-2023 malaria resurgence in northwestern Thailand and assessed how pvcsp haplotypes may affect parasite development in the mosquitoes. Amplicon sequencing of 69 P. vivax isolates revealed both canonical pvcsp variants: VK210 (n = 66) and VK247 (n = 3). The VK210 type exhibited high polymorphism within the central repeat region, with 21 haplotypes (H1-H21) composed of 13-20 repeat motifs. Haplotype H2 was the most common, accounting for half of all VK210 sequences, and i

SUBMITTER: Tapaopong P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12949852 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature