Last Updated: 18/06/2024
Acquired immunity to malaria: addressing parasite diversity and immune maintenance
Objectives
The aim of this project is to assess the importance of the genetic diversity of P. falciparum antigens in relation to immunity and to identify mechanisms for maintenance of protection.
Specific objectives are;
1) to study in detail the breadth, magnitude, kinetics as well as specificity and cross-reactivity of P. falciparum specific antibody and memory B cell responses as well as innate immune responses in individuals with first time infections in comparison with individuals with previous exposure and immunity.
2) to contribute to the development of an efficacious multicomponent vaccine against malaria.
Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is a potentially fatal infection in non-immune individuals. Understanding how the extensive genetic polymorphism of the parasite affects the acquisition and maintenance of immunity is a prerequisite for the development of efficacious control tools such as vaccines. The project includes studies on the molecular epidemiology of parasite vaccine candidate antigens and detailed assessments of malaria specific and innate immune responses during and after an acute malaria episode. The studies are performed in well defined and closely monitored cohorts living in areas of different transmission in Kenya, Tanzania, Mali, Ghana, as well as Swedish travellers who experience malaria for the first time. The researchers will investigate polymorphisms in P. falciparum antigen genes, i.e. genes under immune selection, in individuals with different levels of exposure and immunity. Antibody responses to antigens with limited, moderate and extreme diversity will be analysed in relation to protection against malaria. Immune responses elicited during and after single P. falciparum malaria will be assessed in patients diagnosed with malaria in Sweden and followed prospectively over one year.
Jan 2016 — Dec 2018
$249,232
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