title: Human response to a malaria vaccine candidate antigen.
abstract: The Plasmodium falciparum heat-shock protein 70 (PFHSP70) has been proposed as a potential candidate antigen for a malaria vaccine. In this study the human immune response to this antigen has been evaluated. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were performed on serum samples collected from individuals during and after malarial infection. Only 70% of falciparum malaria patients responded to this antigen during the natural course of infection and 54% of the recovered cases who had no parasitaemia at the time of blood collection lacked detectable antibody. The non-responders to PFHSP70 exhibited an antibody response to total schizont antigens. There was no correlation between the response against total schizont antigens and PFHSP70 antigen. The non-responsiveness against PFHSP70 was not related to age, sex or regional variations. These qualities are undesirable for a vaccine candidate antigen.
authors.affiliation: Malaria Research Centre, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Y D
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Sharma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D016052:Protozoan Vaccines