We evaluated the Plasmodium vivax polymorphism by studying the Pvmsp-3alpha gene's polymorphic region by PCR-RFLP in 55 samples from patients living in Tierralta, Colombia. Three different sizes of the Pvmsp-3 alpha gene were found, type A (1,900 bp), type B (1,500 bp) and type C (1,100 bp); most of the samples were type A (96.4 %). The Pvmsp-3alpha gene exhibited high polymorphism. Seven restr...

The organization and allelic recombination of the merozoite surface protein-1 gene of Plasmodium vivax (PvMsp-1), the most widely prevalent human malaria parasite, were evaluated in complete nucleotide sequences of 40 isolates from various geographic areas. Alignment of 31 distinct alleles revealed the mosaic organization of PvMsp-1, consisting of seven interallele conserved blocks flanked by s...

BACKGROUND Identifying Plasmodium vivax antigen-specific antibodies associated with P. vivax infection and protective immunity is key to the development of serosurveillance tools and vaccines for malaria. Antibody targets of P. vivax can be identified by seroepidemiological studies of individuals living in P. vivax-endemic areas, and is an important strategy given the limited ability to culture...

Reliable molecular markers are essential for a better understanding of the molecular epidemiology of Plasmodium vivax, which is a neglected human malaria parasite. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity of P. vivax isolates from the Brazilian Amazon using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the highly polymorphic merozoit...

A completely effective vaccine for malaria (one of the major infectious diseases worldwide) is not yet available; different membrane proteins involved in parasite-host interactions have been proposed as candidates for designing it. It has been found that proteins encoded by the merozoite surface protein (msp)-7 multigene family are antibody targets in natural infection; the nucleotide diversity...

BACKGROUND The importance of accurate diagnosis of all of major diseases cannot be underestimated and efficient laboratory testing is vital to identifying and treating life-threatening illnesses including malaria. In this study, we compared the potential of one of merozoite surface protein genes, PvMSP-3β, for detection of Plasmodium vivax in blood samples by PCR with routinely used marker, ssr...

One current vaccine candidate against Plasmodium vivax, targeting asexual blood stages, is the major merozoite surface protein-1 of P. vivax (PvMSP-1). Vaccine trials with PvMSP-119 and PvMSP-133 have succeeded in protecting monkeys and it has been shown that a large proportion of individuals naturally exposed to P. vivax infection, develop specific antibodies to PvMSP-119. In the present study...

To infer recent patterns of malaria transmission, we measured naturally acquired IgG antibodies to the conserved 19-kDa C-terminal region of the merozoite surface protein (MSP)-1 of both Plasmodium vivax (PvMSP-1(19)) and Plasmodium falciparum (PfMSP-1(19)) in remote malaria-exposed populations of the Amazon Basin. Community-based cross-sectional surveys were carried out between 2002 and 2003 i...

Background: The worldwide distribution of P. vivax has expanded significantly and the number of reported cases has been on the rise. Approximately 88% of malaria cases in Iran are caused by Plasmodium vivax, and in order to management of the disease, understanding the population genetic structure of the parasite is necessary for designing and applying drugs and vaccines. Among many potential ca...

OBJECTIVES Vivax malaria has reemerged and become endemic in Korea. Our study aimed to analyze by both longitudinal and cross-sectional genetic diversity of this malaria based on the P vivax Merozoite Surface Protein (PvMSP) gene parasites recently found in the Korean peninsula. METHODS PvMSP-1 gene sequence analysis from P vivax isolates (n = 835) during the 1996-2010 period were longitudina...