Premium
Discovery of Plasmodium falciparum Antigens on the Surface of the Gametocyte‐Infected Erythrocyte as Novel Candidates for the Development of Transmission‐Blocking Vaccines
Author(s) -
Tao Dingyin,
PastranaMena Rebecca,
Tripathi Abhai,
Zhang Hao,
R. Dinglasan Rhoel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.888.5
Subject(s) - gametocyte , plasmodium falciparum , malaria , virology , biology , malaria vaccine , antigen , flow cytometry , antibody , immunology
In 2012, there were an estimated 207 million cases of malaria and approximately 627,000 malaria deaths (WHO report 2013). There is currently no commercially available malaria vaccine despite many decades of intense research, thus development of next generation vaccines remains paramount. Transmission‐blocking vaccines prevent transmission of gametocytes or sexual stages from humans to mosquitoes and are a key tool for malaria elimination. However, the number of vaccine targets for these stages remain few, especially so for gametocytes. Recently, natural human infections were shown to generate antibodies against the surface of gametocyte‐infected red blood cells (GiRBCs). However, the identities of proteins that are trafficked from the gametocyte to the red blood cell plasma membrane, i.e., GiRBC‐surface proteins (GSP) are unknown. We have developed a two‐step labeling work flow using cell membrane impermeable biotin and purification by magnetic streptavidin beads to enrich for GiRBC surface proteins at different gametocyte developmental stages prior to High Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS) based proteomic analyses. We discovered novel GSP candidates on immature and mature gametocytes and validated these identifications via immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Finally, our study provides not only an additional resource for mass spectrometry‐derived evidence for GSPs, but also lays down the foundation for rational screening and development of transmission‐blocking vaccine candidates.