Vaccine-induced immunity to malaria parasites and the need for novel strategies

History shows that vaccines are most easily developed for those organisms that induce natural immunity after a single infection. For malaria, partial antiparasite immunity develops only after several years of endemic exposure. Evidence suggests that this inefficient induction of immunity is partly a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in parasitology 2005, Vol.21 (1), p.29-34
Main Author: Good, Michael F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Host-Parasite Interactions - immunology
Host-Parasite Interactions - physiology
Human protozoal diseases
Humans
Immunity, Innate
Infectious diseases
Malaria
Malaria - prevention & control
Malaria Vaccines
Malaria, Falciparum - prevention & control
Medical sciences
Parasitic diseases
Plasmodium - immunology
Plasmodium falciparum - immunology
Protozoa
Protozoal diseases
Vaccines, antisera, therapeutical immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibodies
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Summary:History shows that vaccines are most easily developed for those organisms that induce natural immunity after a single infection. For malaria, partial antiparasite immunity develops only after several years of endemic exposure. Evidence suggests that this inefficient induction of immunity is partly a result of antigenic polymorphism, poor immunogenicity of individual antigens, the ability of the parasite to interfere with the development of immune responses and to cause apoptosis of effector and memory T and B cells, and the interaction of maternal and neonatal immunity. Vaccine strategies that are likely to be ultimately successful are those that combine many antigens to induce a maximal response to protective determinants that might not be normally recognized following normal infection of naive individuals. Whole organismal approaches and the use of ultra-low doses of antigens have shown success in human and animal studies by inducing enhanced immune responses to multiple antigens. These, and related hypervalent subunit approaches, could lead to a viable vaccine.
ISSN:1471-4922
1471-5007
DOI:10.1016/j.pt.2004.10.006