Low immunogenicity of malaria pre-erythrocytic stages can be overcome by vaccination.

ABSTRACT: Immunogenicity is considered one important criterion for progression of candidate vaccines to further clinical evaluation. We tested this assumption in an infection and vaccination model for malaria pre-erythrocytic stages. We engineered Plasmodium berghei parasites that harbour a well-characterised epitope for stimulation of CD8⁺ T cells, either as an antigen in the sporozoite surface-expressed circumsporozoite protein or the parasitophorous vacuole membrane associated protein upregulated in sporozoites 4 (UIS4) expressed in exo-erythrocytic forms (EEFs). We show that the antigen origin results in profound differences in immunogenicity with a sporozoite antigen eliciting robust, superior antigen-specific CD8⁺ T-cell responses, whilst an EEF antigen evokes poor respon

SUBMITTER: Muller K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8033512 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature