Circumsporozoite (CS) protein is the major surface component of Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites and is essential for host cell invasion. A vaccine containing tandem repeats, region III, and thrombospondin type-I repeat (TSR) of CS is efficacious in phase III trials but gives only a 35% reduction in severe malaria in the first year postimmunization. We solved crystal structures showing that re...

Understanding the transmission and movement of Plasmodium parasites is crucial for malaria elimination and prevention of resurgence. Located at the limit of malaria transmission in the Pacific, Vanuatu is an ideal candidate for elimination programs due to low endemicity and the isolated nature of its island setting. We analyzed the variation in the merozoite surface protein 1 (msp1) and the cir...

After injection of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites into Norway-Brown rats, we were able to localize these sporozoites and the early hepatic trophozoites developing from them in histological sections of the liver stained with a sensitive immunogold-silver procedure. Sporozoites invading hepatocytes released substantial quantities of circumsporozoite protein into the hepatocyte cytoplasm. This int...

DNA coding for 234 amino acids of the circumsporozoite (CS) protein of Plasmodium vivax was incorporated into yeast expression vectors. The DNA encoded all the repeat domain and codons for a highly conserved sequence, KLKQP, found in CS proteins from all malaria parasites. Yeast cells transformed with these autonomously replicating plasmids expressed, upon induction, high levels of the CS polyp...

BACKGROUND We conducted a prospective study in a cohort of short-term travelers assessing the incidence rate of anti-circumsporozoite seroconversion, adherence to chemoprophylaxis, symptoms of malaria during travel, and malaria treatment abroad. METHODS Adults were recruited from the travel clinic of the Public Health Service Amsterdam. They kept a structured daily travel diary and donated bl...