Expression and Localization Profiles of Rhoptry Proteins in Plasmodium berghei Sporozoites

Expression and localization of rhoptry neck protein 5 in merozoites and sporozoites of Plasmodium yoelii.

Host cell invasion by Apicomplexan parasites marks a crucial step in disease establishment and pathogenesis. The moving junction (MJ) is a conserved and essential feature among parasites of this phylum during host cell invasion, thus proteins that associate at this MJ are potential targets of drug and vaccine development. In both Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium falciparum, a micronemal protein...

Cross-protection between attenuated Plasmodium berghei and P. yoelii sporozoites

An attenuated Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite (PfSPZ) vaccine is under development, in part, based on studies in mice with P. berghei. We used P. berghei and P. yoelii to study vaccine-induced protection against challenge with a species of parasite different from the immunizing parasite in BALB/c mice. One-hundred percent of mice were protected against homologous challenge. Seventy-nine percen...

Plasmodium berghei berghei: irradiated sporozoites of the ANKA strain as immunizing antigens in mice.

Plasmodium berghei crystalloids contain multiple LCCL proteins

Malaria crystalloids are unique organelles of unknown function that are present only in the mosquito-specific ookinete and early oocyst stages of the parasite. Recently, crystalloid formation in Plasmodium berghei was linked to the parasite protein PbSR, a member of the Plasmodium LCCL protein family composed of six modular multidomain proteins involved in sporozoite development and infectivity...

Chemical attenuation of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites induces sterile immunity in mice.

Radiation and genetic attenuation of Plasmodium sporozoites are two approaches for whole-organism vaccines that protect against malaria. We evaluated chemical attenuation of sporozoites as an alternative vaccine strategy. Sporozoites were treated with the DNA sequence-specific alkylating agent centanamycin, a compound that significantly affects blood stage parasitemia and transmission of murine...