Mass Spectrometric and Artificial Intelligence-Based Identification of the Secretome of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites to Provide Novel Candidates for Vaccine Development Pipeline.

Purpose: Merozoites are the only extracellular form of blood stage parasites, making it a worthwhile target. Multiple invasins that are stored in the merozoite apical organelles, are secreted just prior to invasion, and mediates its interaction with RBC. A comprehensive identification of all these secreted invasins is lacking and this study addresses that gap.