Expression, purification and immunological analysis of the MTRAP protein from P. berghei

Malaria is a disease that can be diagnosed and treated. Even so, the disease is responsible for thousands of deaths annually, and billions of people live in areas at risk of transmission. Most cases of malaria in the world are caused by two species of Plasmodium, P. falciparum and P. vivax. Eliminating malaria is an urgent need, as parasites resistant to the drugs used to treat it are reappearing. It is a general consensus in the scientific community that elimination will require new control strategies, such as an efficient vaccine. The development of a vaccine against malaria is one of the greatest biomedical challenges. The little knowledge about the essential genes and their function during the parasite’s cycle, combined with the presence of high levels of polymorphism and the parasite’s ability to adapt, contribute to the difficulty of developing a vaccine. Few Plasmodium antigens have entered clinical vaccine trials, and only one has made it into phase III clinical trials. Malaria is a disease that can be diagnosed and treated. Even so, the disease is responsible for thousands of deaths annually, and billions of people live in areas at risk of transmission. Recently, a new Plasmodium antigen has been identified MTRAP, which plays an essential role in the transmission of the parasite from the mammalian host to the mosquito vector. Parasitic proteins that have a function at this stage of the parasite’s life cycle are less polymorphic, as they suffer less selective pressure from the mammalian host’s immune system. These antigens can be targets of transmission blocking vaccines.

Project details

Basic Science
Immunology

Apr 2017 — Mar 2019

Brazil