Last Updated: 02/12/2024
Analysis of genetic diversity and immunogenicity of the protein of Plasmodium vivax MAEBL
Objectives
The characteristics of the merozoite adhesive erythrocytic binding protein (MAEBL) open perspectives for the development of an experimental vaccine targeting and pre-erythrocytic stages of the parasite. However, little is known about the variability of this protein. Knowing that genetic diversity can jeopardize the effectiveness of a vaccine containing this antigen, the main objective of this work is to characterize the diversity of standard MAEBL protein of P. vivax isolates from the Brazilian Amazon.
Furthermore, this design will evaluate the immunogenicity of the main variants of this protein in a population exposed to vivax malaria. The results of this project will be of great value for understanding and MAEBL validation as a vaccine candidate in vivax malaria.
Plasmodium vivax infects 70 to 80 million people worldwide. In Brazil, P. vivax accounts for 83.6% of malaria cases and is considered as the most common species of Plasmodium in the country. P. vivax has a significant impact on the productivity of the local population as the course of the infection is usually prolonged and the development of acquired immunity in endemic areas takes several years.
MAEBL is a chimeric molecule expressed on infected erythrocytes and has a portion rich amino-terminal cysteine, transmembrane domain, cytoplasmic domain and other two (M1 and M2). Although both domains are involved in parasite binding to erythrocytes M2 domain is essential for merozoite invasion and exhibits higher adhesiveness.
Recently, it was shown that MAEBL is also expressed in the salivary gland sporozoites and infected hepatocytes. In addition, the gene encoding the protein MAEBL (maebl) was identified in different species of plasmodia, including P. vivax.
May 2015 — Feb 2017
Related Resources
