Safety and immunogenicity of the malaria vaccine candidate GMZ2 in malaria-exposed, adult individuals from Lambaréné, Gabon.
Malaria is still one of the major public health threats in sub-Saharan Africa. An effective vaccine could be a sustainable control measure that can be integrated into existing health infrastructures. The malaria vaccine candidate GMZ2 is a recombinant fusion protein of conserved parts of Plasmodium falciparum Glutamate Rich Protein and Merozoite Surface Protein 3 adjuvanted with aluminium hydroxide. GMZ2 is immunogenic and well tolerated in malaria-naive adults from Germany. To assess safety and immunogenicity in malaria-exposed individuals, 40 adults from Lambaréné, Gabon were randomly assigned to receive either 100 μg GMZ2 or a rabies control vaccine three times in monthly intervals. Both vaccines were well tolerated. One month after a full course of vaccination, GMZ2-vaccinated individuals had 1.4-fold (95% confidence interval: [1.1, 1.7]) higher baseline-corrected anti-GMZ2 antibody levels and more GMZ2-specific memory B-cells compared to the rabies group (p=0.039), despite a high prevalence of GMZ2-specific immune reactivity due to previous intense exposure to P. falciparum.
Mordmüller
Benjamin
B
Medical Research Unit, Albert Schweitzer Hospital, BP 118 Lambaréné, Gabon. benjamin.mordmueller@uni-tuebingen.de
Szywon
Katja
K
Greutelaers
Benedikt
B
Esen
Meral
M
Mewono
Ludovic
L
Treut
Carolin
C
Mürbeth
Raymund E
RE
Chilengi
Roma
R
Noor
Ramadhani
R
Kilama
Wen L
WL
Imoukhuede
Egeruan Babatunde
EB
Imbault
Nathalie
N
Leroy
Odile
O
Theisen
Michael
M
Jepsen
Søren
S
Milligan
Paul
P
Fendel
Rolf
R
Kremsner
Peter G
PG
Issifou
Saadou
S
D000328:Adult; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005681:Gabon; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology*; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C089133:merozoite surface protein 3, Plasmodium; C072492:glutamate-rich protein, Plasmodium