Vaccine-induced immunity to malaria parasites and the need for novel strategies.
History shows that vaccines are most easily developed for those organisms that induce natural immunity after a single infection. For malaria, partial antiparasite immunity develops only after several years of endemic exposure. Evidence suggests that this inefficient induction of immunity is partly a result of antigenic polymorphism, poor immunogenicity of individual antigens, the ability of the parasite to interfere with the development of immune responses and to cause apoptosis of effector and memory T and B cells, and the interaction of maternal and neonatal immunity. Vaccine strategies that are likely to be ultimately successful are those that combine many antigens to induce a maximal response to protective determinants that might not be normally recognized following normal infection of naive individuals. Whole organismal approaches and the use of ultra-low doses of antigens have shown success in human and animal studies by inducing enhanced immune responses to multiple antigens. These, and related hypervalent subunit approaches, could lead to a viable vaccine.
Good
Michael F
MF
The Queensland Institute of Medical Research, The Bancroft Centre, 300 Herston Road, Herston, Brisbane, Queensland 4006, Australia. michaelG@qimr.edu.au
D000818:Animals; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000517:prevention & control; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000276:immunology*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology
D017780:Malaria Vaccines