title: Immunoprofiling of the tryptophan-rich antigen family in Plasmodium vivax.
abstract: Tryptophan-rich antigens (TRAgs) are an antigen family that has been identified in human and rodent malaria parasites. TRAgs have been proposed as candidate antigens for potential vaccines. The Plasmodium vivax TRAg (PvTRAg) family includes 36 members. Each PvTRAg contains a tryptophan-rich (TR) domain in the C-terminal region. In this study, we recombinantly expressed all 36 PvTRAgs using a cell-free expression system, and, for the first time, profiled the IgG antibody responses against all PvTRAgs in the sera from 96 vivax malaria patients and 40 healthy individuals using protein microarray technology. The mean seropositive rate for all PvTRAgs was 60.3%. Among them, nine PvTRAgs were newly identified in this study and showed a seropositive rate of >50%. Five of them, PvTRAg_13, PvTRAg_15, PvTRAg_16, PvTRAg_26, and PvTRAg_29, produced higher levels of IgG antibody, even in low-endemicity countries. In addition, the results of an immunofluorescence analysis suggest that PvTRAgs are, at least in part, associated with caveola-vesicle complexes, a unique structure of P. vivax-infected erythrocytes. The mechanism of formation and the function of these abundant membrane structures are not known. Further investigation aimed at determining the functions of these proteins would lead to a better understanding of the blood-stage biology of P. vivax.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention (Ministry of Health) and Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Parasite Molecular Biology, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Rockville, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jun-Hu
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye-Yoon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kwon-Soo
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention (Ministry of Health) and Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Parasite Molecular Biology, Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea Department of Medical Research, Yangon, Myanmar.
authors.forename: Myat Htut
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Nyunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seong-Kyun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Yangon, Myanmar.
authors.forename: Myat Phone
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Kyaw
authors.affiliation: Mahidol Vivax Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Jetsumon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sattabongkot
authors.affiliation: Division of Malaria Research, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan.
authors.forename: Eizo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.affiliation: Division of Malaria Research, Proteo-Science Center, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan tsuboi.takafumi.mb@ehime-u.ac.jp ethan@kangwon.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuboi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea tsuboi.takafumi.mb@ehime-u.ac.jp ethan@kangwon.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Eun-Taek
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D014364:Tryptophan