Protective immunity to pre-erythrocytic stage malaria

The development of a vaccine against malaria is a major research priority given the burden of disease, death and economic loss inflicted upon the tropical world by this parasite. Despite decades of effort, however, a vaccine remains elusive. The best candidate is a subunit vaccine termed RTS,S but this provides only partial protection against clinical disease. This review examines what is known about protective immunity against pre-erythrocytic stage malaria by considering the humoral and T cell-mediated immune responses that are induced by attenuated sporozoites and by the RTS,S vaccine. On the basis of these observations a set of research priorities are defined that are crucial for the development of a vaccine capable of inducing long-lasting and high-grade protection against malaria

Vaccination with Plasmodium knowlesi AMA1 Formulated in the Novel Adjuvant Co-Vaccine HT™ Protects against Blood-Stage Challenge in Rhesus Macaques

Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (PfAMA1) is a leading blood stage vaccine candidate. Plasmodium knowlesi AMA1 (PkAMA1) was produced and purified using similar methodology as for clinical grade PfAMA1 yielding a pure, conformational intact protein. Combined with the adjuvant CoVaccine HT™, PkAMA1 was found to be highly immunogenic in rabbits and the efficacy of the PkAMA1 was subsequently tested in a rhesus macaque blood-stage challenge model. Six rhesus monkeys were vaccinated with PkAMA1 and a control group of 6 were vaccinated with PfAMA1. A total of 50 µg AMA1 was administered intramuscularly three times at 4 week intervals. One of six rhesus monkeys vaccinated with PkAMA1 was able to control parasitaemia, upon blood stage challenge with P. knowlesi H-strain. Four out of the remaining five showed a delay in parasite onset that correlated with functional antibody titres. In the PfAMA1 vaccinated control group, five out of six animals had to be treated with antimalarials 8 days after challenge; one animal did not become patent during the challenge period. Following a rest period, animals were boosted and challenged again. Four of the six rhesus monkeys vaccinated with PkAMA1 were able to control the parasitaemia, one had a delayed onset of parasitaemia and one animal was not protected, while all control animals required treatment. To confirm that the control of parasitaemia was AMA1-related, animals were allowed to recover, boosted and re-challenged with P. knowlesi Nuri strain. All control animals had to be treated with antimalarials by day 8, while five out of six PkAMA1 vaccinated animals were able to control parasitaemia. This study shows that: i) Yeast-expressed PkAMA1 can protect against blood stage challenge; ii) Functional antibody levels as measured by GIA correlated inversely with the day of onset and iii) GIA IC50 values correlated with estimated in vivo growth rates

A leucine aminopeptidase is involved in kinetoplast DNA segregation in <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i>

The kinetoplast (k), the uniquely packaged mitochondrial DNA of trypanosomatid protists is formed by a catenated network of minicircles and maxicircles that divide and segregate once each cell cycle. Although many proteins involved in kDNA replication and segregation are now known, several key steps in the replication mechanism remain uncharacterized at the molecular level, one of which is the nabelschnur or umbilicus, a prominent structure which in the mammalian parasite Trypanosoma brucei connects the daughter kDNA networks prior to their segregation. Here we characterize an M17 family leucyl aminopeptidase metalloprotease, termed TbLAP1, which specifically localizes to the kDNA disk and the nabelschur and represents the first described protein found in this structure. We show that TbLAP1 is required for correct segregation of kDNA, with knockdown resulting in delayed cytokinesis and ectopic expression leading to kDNA loss and decreased cell proliferation. We propose that TbLAP1 is required for efficient kDNA division and specifically participates in the separation of daughter kDNA networks

Why Functional Pre-Erythrocytic and Bloodstage Malaria Vaccines Fail: A Meta-Analysis of Fully Protective Immunizations and Novel Immunological Model

Background: Clinically protective malaria vaccines consistently fail to protect adults and children in endemic settings, and at best only partially protect infants. Methodology/Principal Findings: We identify and evaluate 1916 immunization studies between 1965-February 2010, and exclude partially or nonprotective results to find 177 completely protective immunization experiments. Detailed reexamination reveals an unexpectedly mundane basis for selective vaccine failure: live malaria parasites in the skin inhibit vaccine function. We next show published molecular and cellular data support a testable, novel model where parasite-host interactions in the skin induce malaria-specific regulatory T cells, and subvert early antigen-specific immunity to parasite-specific immunotolerance. This ensures infection and tolerance to reinfection. Exposure to Plasmodium-infected mosquito bites therefore systematically triggers immunosuppression of endemic vaccine-elicited responses. The extensive vaccine trial data solidly substantiate this model experimentally. Conclusions/Significance: We conclude skinstage-initiated immunosuppression, unassociated with bloodstage parasites, systematically blocks vaccine function in the field. Our model exposes novel molecular and procedural strategies to significantly and quickly increase protective efficacy in both pipeline and currently ineffective malaria vaccines, and forces fundamental reassessment of central precepts determining vaccine development. This has major implications fo

Leishmania RNA virus controls the severity of mucocutaneous leishmaniasis.

Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by infections with intracellular parasites of the Leishmania Viannia subgenus, including Leishmania guyanensis. The pathology develops after parasite dissemination to nasopharyngeal tissues, where destructive metastatic lesions form with chronic inflammation. Currently, the mechanisms involved in lesion development are poorly understood. Here we show that metastasizing parasites have a high Leishmania RNA virus-1 (LRV1) burden that is recognized by the host Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) to induce proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Paradoxically, these TLR3-mediated immune responses rendered mice more susceptible to infection, and the animals developed an increased footpad swelling and parasitemia. Thus, LRV1 in the metastasizing parasites subverted the host immune response to Leishmania and promoted parasite persistence