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 > 10(6)) 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.