OBJECTIVES Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein 1 (PvMSP1) is the most intensively studied malaria vaccine candidate. Although high antibody response-inducing two C-terminal fragments of PvMSP1 (PvMSP1-19 and PvMSP1-42) are currently being developed as candidate malaria vaccine antigens, their high genetic diversity in various isolates is a major hurdle. The sequence polymorphism of PvMSP...

Malaria represents a major public health problem and an important cause of mortality and morbidity. The malaria parasites are becoming resistant to drugs used to treat the disease and still no efficient vaccine has been developed. One promising vaccine candidate is the merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1), which has been extensively investigated as a vaccine target. The surface protein MSP1 plays...

Merozoite invasion of red blood cells is crucial to the development of the parasite that causes malaria. Merozoite surface proteins (MSPs) mediate the first interaction between parasite and erythrocyte. In Plasmodium falciparum, they include a complex of products from at least 3 genes (msp1, msp6, and msp7), one of which, msp7, is part of a gene family containing 3 and 6 adjacent members in Pla...

The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and the human immune system have coevolved to ensure that the parasite is not eliminated and reinfection is not resisted. This relationship is likely mediated through a myriad of host-parasite interactions, although surprisingly few such interactions have been identified. Here we show that the 33-kDa fragment of P. falciparum merozoite surface protei...

The development of clinical immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria is thought to require years of parasite exposure, a delay often attributed to difficulties in developing protective antibody levels. In this study, we evaluated several P. falciparum vaccine candidate antigens, including apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA-1), circumsporozoite protein (CSP), erythrocyte binding antigen 175 (EBA-17...

The Plasmodium merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) is a leading vaccine candidate for protecting against the blood stage of malaria. Previous studies have shown that the 19-kDa carboxyl terminus of this protein is able to induce protective immunity in some monkey and mouse strains. We show that immunization with the recombinant Plasmodium yoelii 19-kDa fragment of MSP1 (MSP1(19)) expressed in Sa...

We assessed Plasmodium (P.) falciparum allelic diversity based on clinical severity and age. The study was conducted from 2011 to 2012 in Libreville, Gabon where malaria prevalence was 24.5%. The polymorphism of the merozoite surface protein-1 (msp1) locus was analyzed in isolates from patients with complicated and uncomplicated malaria. Blood was collected on filter paper. After DNA extraction...

Merozoite surface proteins have been implicated in the initial attachment to the host red blood cell membrane that begins the process of invasion, an important step in the life cycle of the malaria parasite. In Plasmodium falciparum, merozoite surface proteins include several glycosylphosphatidyl inositol-anchored proteins and peripheral proteins attached to the membrane through protein-protein...

BACKGROUND To study the relationship of susceptibility to lung cancer with the gene polymorphisms of CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTM3, GSTT1, GSTP1 and smoking status in Han and Mongolian populations of Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China. MATERIALS AND METHODS PCR-RFLP, allele-specific and multiplex PCR were employed to identify the genotypes of CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTM3, GSTT1 and GSTP1 in a case-...

Apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) and the 42-kDa merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1(42)) are leading malaria vaccine candidates. Several preclinical and clinical trials have been conducted, and an in vitro parasite growth inhibition assay has been used to evaluate the biological activities of the resulting antibodies. In a U.S. phase 1 trial with AMA1-C1/Alhydrogel plus CPG 7909, the vaccination ...