A Highly Infectious Plasmodium Yoelii Parasite, Bearing Plasmodium Falciparum Circumsporozoite Protein

Overview

Journal Malar J

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Tropical Medicine

Date 2016 Apr 13

PMID 27068454

Citations 11

Authors

Min Zhang

Izumi Kaneko

Tiffany Tsao

Robert Mitchell

Elizabeth H Nardin

Shiroh Iwanaga

Masao Yuda

Moriya Tsuji

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Plasmodium circumsporozoite protein (CSP) is a major surface antigen present in the sporozoite (Spz) stage of a malaria parasite. RTS, S vaccine, the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine, consists of a large portion of Plasmodium falciparum CSP (PfCSP). A highly infectious, recombinant rodent malaria, Plasmodium yoelii parasite bearing a full-length PfCSP, PfCSP/Py Spz, was needed as a tool to evaluate the role of PfCSP in mediating, protective, anti-malaria immunity in a mouse model.

Methods: A transgenic parasite, PfCSP/Py Spz, was generated by inserting a construct expressing the PfCSP at the locus of the P. yoelii CSP gene by double cross-over homologous recombination. Then the biological and protective properties of PfCSP/Py Spz were determined.

Results: This PfCSP/Py parasite produced up to 30,000 Spz in mosquito salivary glands, which is equal or even higher than the number of Spz produced by wild-type P. yoelii parasites. Five bites of PfCSP/Py-infected mosquitoes could induce blood infection in BALB/c mice.

Conclusions: The current study has demonstrated a successful establishment of a transgenic P. yoelii parasite clone that is able to express a full-length PfCSP, PfCSP/Py parasite. Importantly, this PfCSP/Py parasite can be as infectious as the wild-type P. yoelii parasite both in mosquito vector and in mouse, a mammalian host. A new transgenic parasite that expresses a full-length PfCSP may become a useful tool for researchers to investigate immunity against PfCSP in a mouse model.

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