Mosquito stage, transmission blocking vaccines for malaria.
OBJECTIVE
This review highlights progress made in the development of vaccines aimed at the stages of malaria parasites found in mosquitoes that block the transmission of malaria within a community.


RESULTS
Substantial progress has been made on the production and characterization of the leading candidates P25 and P28 from Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. Immunogenicity data have been obtained for P25 in humans that showed significant transmission blocking activity and further advances in formulation should boost this activity. The completion of the malaria genome and ongoing proteomics identified further candidate antigens now entering development.


CONCLUSIONS
Recent advances increase confidence that a mosquito stage transmission blocking malaria vaccine will be feasible.
Saul
Allan
A
Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Biology, NIAID, NIH, Rockville, Maryland 20852, USA. ASaul@niaid.nih.gov
D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000090266:Chromobox Protein Homolog 5; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D010961:Plasmodium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; C000715594:CBX5 protein, human; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D000090266:Chromobox Protein Homolog 5