Genetic immunisation by liver stage antigen 3 protects chimpanzees against malaria despite low immune responses.
BACKGROUND
The true interest of genetic immunisation might have been hastily underestimated based on overall immunogenicity data in humans and lack of parallelism with other, more classical immunisation methods.


RESULTS
Using malaria Liver Stage Antigen-3 (LSA-3), we report that genetic immunization induces in chimpanzees, the closest relative of humans, immune responses which are as scarce as those reported using other DNA vaccines in humans, but which nonetheless confer strong, sterile and reproducible protection. The pattern was consistent in 3/4 immunized apes against two high dose sporozoite challenges performed as late as 98 and 238 days post-immunization and by a heterologous strain.


CONCLUSIONS
These results should, in our opinion, lead to a revisiting of the value of this unusual means of immunisation, using as a model a disease, malaria, in which virulent challenges of volunteers are ethically acceptable.
Daubersies
Pierre
P
Unité de Parasitologie Biomédicale, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Ollomo
Benjamin
B
Sauzet
Jean-Pierre
JP
Brahimi
Karima
K
Perlaza
Blanca-Liliana
BL
Eling
Wijnand
W
Moukana
Hubert
H
Rouquet
Pierre
P
de Taisne
Charles
C
Druilhe
Pierre
P
D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000378:metabolism*; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry; D007107:Immune System; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007114:Immunization; D008288:Malaria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000737:chemistry; D008957:Models, Genetic; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000378:metabolism; D010967:Plasmodium yoelii / Q000378:metabolism; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019444:Vaccines, DNA
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000939:Epitopes; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; C067302:liver stage-specific antigen, Plasmodium; D004247:DNA