Last Updated: 18/11/2025
Impact of P. falciparum diversity on transmission reducing immunity
Objectives
The main objective of this project is to evaluate the Plasmodium falciparum strain-specificity of naturally-acquired and vaccine-induced transmission reducing immunity.
This objective will be achieved through:
- measure transmission reducing immune responses (TRI) against multiple parasite strains, including common laboratory strains and Malawian field isolates, using serum from Malawian study participants and monoclonal antibodies to transmission blocking vaccine candidate antigens with mosquito feeding assays.
- identify antibody correlates of these responses using a novel diversity-based peptide microarray.
Standard membrane feeding assays (SMFA) and direct membrane feeding assays (DMFA) will be used to characterize the transmission reducing the potential of serum from participants in cohort studies in Malawi and vaccine-induced mAbs to multiple laboratory and field strains of gametocytes. And peptide microarray will be used to identify peptides associated with cross-reactive and strain-specific antibody responses associated with TRI.
Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc), The Netherlands
Interventions to decrease P. falciparum transmission are critical to achieving the goal of malaria eradication. One promising approach is the development of transmission blocking vaccines. These vaccines aim to induce antibodies that limit parasite development in the mosquito and prevent transmission to the next human host. Current vaccine candidate antigens have been identified based on naturally-acquired immune responses to these antigens resulting in decreased transmission. However, it is not known if either naturally-acquired or vaccine-induced transmission reducing immune responses (TRI) are strain-specific. Strain specificity, meaning failure of immune responses based on a single strain to provide protection from other strains, has led to limited efficacy of prior malaria vaccines targeting the asexual disease-causing stage of the parasite. Understanding the strain-specificity of naturally-acquired and vaccine-induced TRI has significant implications for the potential success of transmission blocking vaccines as well as studies of the epidemiology of TRI.
Comparison of naturally acquired TRI and vaccine induced mAbs to reduce transmission of lab and field strain gametocytes; identify peptides associated with antibody mediated TRI.
Jul 2018 — Jun 2023
$940,224
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