USF Researchers Identify New P. vivax Vaccine Target
Researchers at USF Health have identified a previously unknown vulnerability in Plasmodium vivax, a major malaria parasite found across parts of Asia and Central and South America.
The discovery could provide a new target for developing vaccines against the parasite.
Published in Immunity, the study identified a previously uncharacterised epitope on circumsporozoite protein (CSP), a major surface protein of P. vivax.
Researchers found that antibodies targeting this site can block the parasite from invading liver cells.
The finding is particularly relevant to P. vivax because the parasite can establish dormant forms in the liver after initial infection.
These forms can reactivate months or years later, causing recurrent malaria and enabling further transmission.
The USF-led team combined findings from parasitology and vaccine immunology research to identify and validate the vulnerable region.
The results showed that antibodies directed against the newly identified site could inhibit parasite infection before dormant liver forms are established.
The discovery provides researchers with a new target for vaccine development against P. vivax, which has historically received less research attention than Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for most malaria cases in sub-Saharan Africa.
Further work will focus on developing vaccine formulations and evaluating their potential in human studies.
A vaccine based on the target is expected to require several additional development stages before clinical testing.
