title: The Plasmodium falciparum-specific human memory B cell compartment expands gradually with repeated malaria infections.
abstract: Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria is only acquired after years of repeated infections and wanes rapidly without ongoing parasite exposure. Antibodies are central to malaria immunity, yet little is known about the B-cell biology that underlies the inefficient acquisition of Pf-specific humoral immunity. This year-long prospective study in Mali of 185 individuals aged 2 to 25 years shows that Pf-specific memory B-cells and antibodies are acquired gradually in a stepwise fashion over years of repeated Pf exposure. Both Pf-specific memory B cells and antibody titers increased after acute malaria and then, after six months of decreased Pf exposure, contracted to a point slightly higher than pre-infection levels. This inefficient, stepwise expansion of both the Pf-specific memory B-cell and long-lived antibody compartments depends on Pf exposure rather than age, based on the comparator response to tetanus vaccination that was efficient and stable. These observations lend new insights into the cellular basis of the delayed acquisition of malaria immunity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunogenetics, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Greta E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Boubacar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Traore
authors.forename: Kassoum
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kayentao
authors.forename: Aissata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ongoiba
authors.forename: Safiatou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doumbo
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doumtabe
authors.forename: Younoussou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kone
authors.forename: Seydou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dia
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guindo
authors.forename: Abdramane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Traore
authors.forename: Chiung-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Kazutoyo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mircetic
authors.forename: Shanping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baughman
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Narum
authors.forename: Louis H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Ogobara K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Doumbo
authors.forename: Susan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Crompton
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007156:Immunologic Memory / Q000276:immunology*; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012621:Seasons; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G