Different Plasmodium falciparum recombinant MSP1(19) antigens differ in their capacities to stimulate in vitro peripheral blood T lymphocytes in individuals from various endemic areas

This study reports on T-cell proliferative responses to the 19-kDa C-terminal domain of the Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein (MSP1(19)). Three different recombinant proteins were used: an Escherichia coli product expressing the first EGF-like domain and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and baculovirus/insect-cell-produced proteins containing both EGF-like domains, the latter protein being produced with or without N-glycosylation. Cell donors were P. falciparum-immune adults with no recent history of clinical malaria and recruited from three Senegalese settings with different epidemiological parasite transmission. Each mononuclear-blood-cell preparation was stimulated with a range of concentrations of the three proteins. Most subjects' mononuclear cells were reactive to at least one protein, but significant differences in lymphoproliferation were seen between the settings and within individual cultures depending on the protein source and concentration. Importantly, lymphoproliferation indices correlated inversely with the intensity of P. falciparum malaria transmission. When purified T lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of MSP1(19) plus autologous monocytes, B lymphocytes or a proposed CD1+ dendritic-cell population as costimulatory cells, significant differences were observed depending on the individual's previous exposure to parasites. This study shows that the stimulation of lymphocyte proliferation in vitro with MSP1(19) depends on several factors, including epidemiological conditions and protein preparations.