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Malaria Journal
Published in: Malaria Journal 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research

In silico epitope mapping and experimental evaluation of the Merozoite Adhesive Erythrocytic Binding Protein (MAEBL) as a malaria vaccine candidate

Authors: Pedro Cravo, Renato B. Machado, Juliana A. Leite, Taizy Leda, Rossarin Suwanarusk, Najara Bittencourt, Letusa Albrecht, Carla Judice, Stefanie C. P. Lopes, Marcus V. G. Lacerda, Marcelo U. Ferreira, Irene S. Soares, Yun Shan Goh, Daniel Y. Bargieri, François Nosten, Bruce Russell, Laurent Rénia, Fabio T. M. Costa

Published in: Malaria Journal | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Technical limitations for culturing the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax have impaired the discovery of vaccine candidates, challenging the malaria eradication agenda. The immunogenicity of the M2 domain of the Merozoite Adhesive Erythrocytic Binding Protein (MAEBL) antigen cloned from the Plasmodium yoelii murine parasite, has been previously demonstrated.

Results

Detailed epitope mapping of MAEBL through immunoinformatics identified several MHCI, MHCII and B cell epitopes throughout the peptide, with several of these lying in the M2 domain and being conserved between P. vivax, P. yoelii and Plasmodium falciparum, hinting that the M2-MAEBL is pan-reactive. This hypothesis was tested through functional assays, showing that P. yoelii M2-MAEBL antisera are able to recognize and inhibit erythrocyte invasion from both P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites isolated from Thai patients, in ex vivo assays. Moreover, the sequence of the M2-MAEBL is shown to be highly conserved between P. vivax isolates from the Amazon and Thailand, indicating that the MAEBL antigen may constitute a vaccine candidate outwitting strain-specific immunity.

Conclusions

The MAEBL antigen is promising candidate towards the development of a malaria vaccine.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
In silico epitope mapping and experimental evaluation of the Merozoite Adhesive Erythrocytic Binding Protein (MAEBL) as a malaria vaccine candidate
Authors
Pedro Cravo
Renato B. Machado
Juliana A. Leite
Taizy Leda
Rossarin Suwanarusk
Najara Bittencourt
Letusa Albrecht
Carla Judice
Stefanie C. P. Lopes
Marcus V. G. Lacerda
Marcelo U. Ferreira
Irene S. Soares
Yun Shan Goh
Daniel Y. Bargieri
François Nosten
Bruce Russell
Laurent Rénia
Fabio T. M. Costa
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Malaria Journal / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1475-2875
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-017-2144-x

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