Conservation of S20 as an Ineffective and Disposable IFNγ-Inducing Determinant of Sporozoites Indicates Diversion of Cellular Immunity.

Despite many decades of research to develop a malaria vaccine, only one vaccine candidate has been explored in pivotal phase III clinical trials. This candidate subunit vaccine consists of a portion of a single antigen, circumsporozoite protein (CSP). This antigen was initially identified in the murine malaria model and shown to contain an immunodominant and protective CD8 T cell epitope specific to the H-2K (BALB/c)-restricted genetic background.

Malaria According to GARP: A New Trail towards Anti-disease Vaccination.

Naturally acquired anti-Plasmodium falciparum immunity protects first and foremost against severe disease. Raj et al. have established a tantalizing path towards an anti-disease vaccine by identifying glutamic acid-rich protein (GARP) antibodies as signatures of protection against severe malaria in Tanzanian children and demonstrating efficacy in blood cultures and monkey trials.