Biochemical and immunological characterization of E. coli expressed 42 kDa fragment of Plasmodium vivax and P. cynomolgi bastianelli merozoite surface protein-1.

Plasmodium vivax is one of the most widely distributed human malaria parasites and due to drug-resistant strains, its incidence and prevalence has increased, thus an effective vaccine against the parasites is urgently needed. One of the major constraints in developing P. vivax vaccine is the lack of suitable in vivo models for testing the protective efficacy of the vaccine.

Merozoite surface protein 1 of Plasmodium vivax induces a protective response against Plasmodium cynomolgi challenge in rhesus monkeys.

The 42-kDa fragment of the merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1(42)) is a leading candidate for the development of a vaccine to control malaria. We previously reported a method for the production of Plasmodium vivax MSP-1(42) (PvMSP-1(42)) as a soluble protein (S. Dutta, L.