ABSTRACTBlood-stage malaria vaccines that target singlePlasmodium falciparumantigens involved in erythrocyte invasion have not induced optimal protection in field trials. Blood-stage malaria vaccine development has faced two major hurdles, antigenic polymorphisms and molecular redundancy, which have led to an inability to demonstrate potent, strain-transcending, invasion-inhibitory antibodies. Vaccines that target multiple invasion-related parasite proteins may inhibit erythrocyte invasion more efficiently. Our approach is to develop a receptor-blocking blood-stage vaccine againstP. falciparumthat targets the erythrocyte binding domains of multiple parasite adhesins, blocking their interaction with their receptors and thus inhibiting erythrocyte invasion. However, with numerous invasion ligands, the challenge is to identify combinations that elicit potent strain-transcending invasion inhibition. We evaluated the invasion-inhibitory activities of 20 different triple combinations of antibodies mixedin vitroagainst a diverse set of six key merozoite ligands, including the novel ligandsP. falciparumapical asparagine-rich protein (PfAARP), EBA-175 (PfF2),P. falciparumreticulocyte binding-like homologous protein 1 (PfRH1), PfRH2, PfRH4, andPlasmodiumthrombospondin apical merozoite protein (PTRAMP), which are localized in different apical organelles and are translocated to the merozoite surface at different time points during invasion. They bind erythrocytes with different specificities and are thus involved in distinct invasion pathways. The antibody combination of EBA-175 (PfF2), PfRH2, and PfAARP produced the most efficacious strain-transcending inhibition of erythrocyte invasion against diverseP. falciparumclones. This potent antigen combination was selected for coimmunization as a mixture that induced balanced antibody responses against each antigen and inhibited erythrocyte invasion efficiently. We have thus demonstrated a novel two-step screening approach to identify a potent antigen combination that elicits strong strain-transcending invasion inhibition, supporting its development as a receptor-blocking malaria vaccine.
Faculty Opinions recommendation of Safety, infectivity and immunogenicity of a genetically attenuated blood-stage malaria vaccine.