title: High prevalence of human antibodies to recombinant Duffy binding-like alpha domains of the Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte membrane protein 1 in semi-immune adults compared to that in nonimmune children.
abstract: We used a panel of nine fusion proteins that contain different Duffy binding-like alpha (DBL-alpha) domains of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte membrane protein 1 to assess the levels of antibody activity in serum samples obtained from semi-immune or nonimmune individuals from Lambaréné, Gabon. Recognition was measured in terms of either the prevalence or the magnitude of the response. A strong correlation between the immune status of the patients and reactivity with recombinant proteins was observed, which was interpreted as a reflection of the number of infections acquired over time. The antibody responses were predominantly directed toward variable epitopes of the DBL-alpha domain. Antibody responses could be reduced by preincubation of the sera with various fusion proteins. A portion of individuals who exhibited high-level responses to all fusion proteins also had antibodies which recognized conserved epitopes. The possibility that a synergizing effect of anti-DBL-alpha domain antibodies could support chemotherapy is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Institute for Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Oguariri
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borrmann
authors.forename: M Q
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Klinkert
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Kremsner
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001665:Binding Sites; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004375:Duffy Blood-Group System / Q000276:immunology*; D004910:Erythrocyte Membrane / Q000276:immunology*; D005681:Gabon; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D004375:Duffy Blood-Group System; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C085731:erythrocyte membrane protein 1, Plasmodium falciparum