Induction of parasite growth-inhibitory antibodies by a virosomal formulation of a peptidomimetic of loop I from domain III of Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1.

ABSTRACT: Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1) of Plasmodium falciparum is a leading candidate antigen for inclusion in a malaria subunit vaccine. Its ectodomain can be divided into three subdomains, each with disulfide bond-stabilized structures. Since the majority of antibodies raised against the ectodomain appear to recognize strain-specific epitopes in domain I, we attempted to develop a vaccine formulation which directs the immune response to a region that contains more conserved epitopes. Here we demonstrate that a virosomal formulation of a peptide that mimics the semiconserved loop I of domain III elicits parasite growth-inhibitory antibodies. A synthetic peptide comprising residues 446 to 490 of AMA-1 (AMA-1(446-490)) was conjugated through the N terminus to a derivative of phosphatidylethanol

SUBMITTER: Mueller MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC166038 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature