title: Double dimer peptide constructs are immunogenic and protective against Plasmodium falciparum in the experimental Aotus monkey model.
abstract: Multiple antigen peptide constructs (MAPs) have been used to obtain defined multimeric peptide molecules useful in the development of possible synthetic malaria vaccines. In this context, a method was developed, named double dimer constructs (DDCs), involving the direct synthesis of a dimeric peptide with a C-terminal cysteine. A tetrameric molecule was then obtained by oxidation of sulfhydryl groups. Dimer synthesis was optimized using a Fmoc/tBu strategy, dimers were purified by HPLC, oxidized with DMSO and characterized by HPLC and MALDI-TOF-MS. The tetramers or DDCs obtained by this method were used as immunogens in the search for a possible malaria vaccine. It was found that they were immunogenic in the experimental Aotus monkey model, and were able to induce protective immunity when challenged experimentally with a highly infective Plasmodium falciparum malaria strain.
authors.affiliation: Fundación Instituto de Inmunologia de Colombia (FIDIC), Bogotá, Colombia. zulyrivera@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Granados
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Varón
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carvajal
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chaves
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guzmán
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Patarroyo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D001029:Aotus trivirgatus; D019281:Dimerization; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan