title: Immunogenicity of an alum-adsorbed synthetic multiple-antigen peptide based on B- and T-cell epitopes of the Plasmodium falciparum CS protein: possible vaccine application.
abstract: Multiple-antigen peptides (MAPs), containing B- and T-cell epitopes of the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite (CS) protein, have been designed to overcome the limitations of first-generation peptide vaccines caused by low epitope density, carrier toxicity and the lack of parasite-derived T-cell epitopes. The immunogenicity of a P. falciparum MAP construct (T1B4), containing four copies of the 5' repeat cell T epitope (T1) combined with the 3' repeat epitope (NANP)3, has been examined using different adjuvant formulations. Mice immunized intraperitoneally or subcutaneously with (T1B)4 in alum, a formulation suitable for human vaccines, developed high anti-peptide and anti-sporozoite antibody titres, comparable with those obtained with Freund's adjuvant. The MAP/alum formulation also elicited a strong anamnestic antibody response in sporozoite-primed mice, raising the possibility of using a MAP/alum vaccine to increase the low anti-sporozoite antibody levels of people living in malaria-endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology, New York University School of Medicine, NY 10010.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clavijo
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Nussenzweig
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Nardin
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000737:chemistry*; D000327:Adsorption; D000534:Alum Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000534:Alum Compounds; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000939:Epitopes; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; C041595:circumsporozoite protein, Protozoan; C041524:aluminum sulfate