title: Adjuvant-dependent immune response to malarial transmission-blocking vaccine candidate antigens.
abstract: Immune responses in major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-disparate congenic mouse strains immunized with sexual stage malaria parasites or purified recombinant protein were adjuvant dependent. Whereas mice exhibited a limited antibody response to immunization with newly emerged Plasmodium falciparum gametes in Freund's adjuvant, all five congenic mouse strains responded to several transmission-blocking vaccine candidate antigens, when parasites were emulsified in a monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) and trehalose dimycolate (TDM) adjuvant. The humoral response in those animals immunized with the antigen in a MPL/TDM adjuvant was helper T cell dependent, as evident by boosting of the antibody response after a second immunization. If the immunogen consisted of purified recombinant protein, then the immune response was not MHC class II limited in mice immunized with either complete Freund's adjuvant or TDM/MPL. The potential role of adjuvants in overcoming apparent immune nonresponsiveness and the implications for development of a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Vaccine Section, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Rawlings
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Kaslow
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D003311:Cord Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000939:Epitopes; D007114:Immunization; D008050:Lipid A / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D003311:Cord Factors; D000939:Epitopes; D008050:Lipid A; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; C048436:monophosphoryl lipid A