title: Protective immunization with invariant peptides of the Plasmodium falciparum antigen MSA2.
abstract: Three octapeptides from the N and C terminal C regions of the merozoite surface Ag 2 (MSA2) of Plasmodium falciparum elicit anti-MSA2 antibody when given as diphtheria toxoid conjugates. These antibodies also bind to the MSA2 homolog from the rodent malaria Plasmodium berghei. All mice vaccinated with these conjugates and challenged with an otherwise lethal inoculum of P. berghei showed substantial protection with most surviving. There was a inverse correlation between the development of the parasitemia and the antibody titer, with alum, algammulin, and CFA giving comparable results. These observations show that the conserved region of MSA2 could form the basis of a malaria vaccine when presented in a suitably immunogenic form, thus avoiding the problems of antigenic diversity [corrected].
authors.affiliation: Tropical Health Program, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saul
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D007114:Immunization; D008288:Malaria / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000276:immunology*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D010455:Peptides; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C065974:merozoite surface protein 2, Plasmodium