title: Rapid acquisition of isolate-specific antibodies to chondroitin sulfate A-adherent plasmodium falciparum isolates in Ghanaian primigravidae.
abstract: Recent evidence suggests that pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM), associated with maternal anemia and low birth weight, results from preferential sequestration of parasitized red blood cells (pRBC) in the placenta via binding of variant surface antigens (VSA) expressed on the surface of pRBC to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA). The VSA mediating CSA binding (VSA(CSA)) and thus sequestration of pRBC in the placenta are antigenically distinct from those that mediate pRBC sequestration elsewhere in the body, and it has been suggested that VSA(CSA) are relatively conserved and may thus constitute an attractive target for vaccination against PAM. Using flow cytometry, levels of antibody to VSA and VSA(CSA) expressed on the surface of red blood cells infected with Plasmodium falciparum isolates were measured during pregnancy and lactation in Ghanaian primigravid women enrolled in a trial of maternal vitamin A supplementation. Antibody responses to VSA(CSA) were detected within the first trimester of pregnancy and increased with increasing duration of pregnancy, and they seemed to be isolate specific, indicating that different CSA-adherent parasite lines express antigenically distinct VSA and thus may not be as antigenically conserved as has been previously suggested. Levels of anti-VSA(CSA) were not significantly associated with placental malarial infection determined by histology, indicating that primary immune responses to VSA(CSA) may not be sufficient to eradicate placental parasitemia in primigravidae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom. sharon.cox@lshtm.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sharon E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Trine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Staalsoe
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arthur
authors.forename: Judith N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Bulmer
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hviid
authors.forename: Kojo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yeboah-Antwi
authors.forename: Betty R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Kirkwood
authors.forename: Eleanor M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Riley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000940:Antigenic Variation; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007774:Lactation / Q000276:immunology; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D010920:Placenta / Q000469:parasitology; D010922:Placenta Diseases / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates