title: The Duffy binding protein as a key target for a Plasmodium vivax vaccine: lessons from the Brazilian Amazon.
abstract: Plasmodium vivax infects human erythrocytes through a major pathway that requires interaction between an apical parasite protein, the Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) and its receptor on reticulocytes, the Duffy antigen/receptor for chemokines (DARC). The importance of the interaction between PvDBP (region II, DBPII) and DARC to P. vivax infection has motivated our malaria research group at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (state of Minas Gerais, Brazil) to conduct a number of immunoepidemiological studies to characterise the naturally acquired immunity to PvDBP in populations living in the Amazon rainforest. In this review, we provide an update on the immunology and molecular epidemiology of PvDBP in the Brazilian Amazon - an area of markedly unstable malaria transmission - and compare it with data from other parts of Latin America, as well as Asia and Oceania.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Taís Nóbrega
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Flora Satiko
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cristiana Ferreira Alves
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: de Brito
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou-Fiocruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luzia Helena
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Carvalho
mesh_terms: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D001938:Brazil; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D062306:Geography, Medical; D006801:Humans; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000276:immunology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; C066001:Duffy antigen binding protein, Plasmodium; D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface