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Plasmodium vivax antigen discovery based on alpha-helical coiled coil protein motif

Céspedes, Nora and Habel, Catherine and Lopez-Perez, Mary and Castellanos, Angélica and Kajava, Andrey V. and Servis, Catherine and Felger, Ingrid and Moret, Remy and Arévalo-Herrera, Myriam and Corradin, Giampietro and Herrera, Sócrates. (2014) Plasmodium vivax antigen discovery based on alpha-helical coiled coil protein motif. PLoS ONE, Vol. 9, H. 6 , e100440.

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Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A6288923

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Abstract

Protein α-helical coiled coil structures that elicit antibody responses, which block critical functions of medically important microorganisms, represent a means for vaccine development. By using bioinformatics algorithms, a total of 50 antigens with α-helical coiled coil motifs orthologous to Plasmodium falciparum were identified in the P. vivax genome. The peptides identified in silico were chemically synthesized; circular dichroism studies indicated partial or high α-helical content. Antigenicity was evaluated using human sera samples from malaria-endemic areas of Colombia and Papua New Guinea. Eight of these fragments were selected and used to assess immunogenicity in BALB/c mice. ELISA assays indicated strong reactivity of serum samples from individuals residing in malaria-endemic regions and sera of immunized mice, with the α-helical coiled coil structures. In addition, ex vivo production of IFN-γ by murine mononuclear cells confirmed the immunogenicity of these structures and the presence of T-cell epitopes in the peptide sequences. Moreover, sera of mice immunized with four of the eight antigens recognized native proteins on blood-stage P. vivax parasites, and antigenic cross-reactivity with three of the peptides was observed when reacted with both the P. falciparum orthologous fragments and whole parasites. Results here point to the α-helical coiled coil peptides as possible P. vivax malaria vaccine candidates as were observed for P. falciparum. Fragments selected here warrant further study in humans and non-human primate models to assess their protective efficacy as single components or assembled as hybrid linear epitopes.
Faculties and Departments:09 Associated Institutions > Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH)
09 Associated Institutions > Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) > Former Units within Swiss TPH > Molecular Diagnostics (Felger)
UniBasel Contributors:Felger, Ingrid
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Public Library of Science
e-ISSN:1932-6203
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
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Last Modified:31 Aug 2018 06:39
Deposited On:10 Oct 2014 09:19

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