Identification of novelPlasmodium vivaxproteins associated with protection against clinical malaria

AbstractAs progress towards malaria elimination continues, the challenge posed by the parasite speciesPlasmodium vivaxhas become more evident. In many regions co-endemic forP. vivaxandPlasmodium falciparum, as transmission has declined the proportion of cases due toP. vivaxhas increased. Novel tools that directly targetP. vivaxare thus warranted for accelerated elimination. There is currently no advanced vaccine forP. vivaxand only a limited number of potential candidates in the pipeline. In this study we aimed to identify promisingP. vivaxproteins that could be used as part of a subunit vaccination approach. We screened 342P. vivaxprotein constructs for their ability to induce IgG antibody responses associated with protection from clinical disease in a cohort of children from Papua New Guinea. This approach has previously been used to successfully identify novel candidates. We were able to confirm previous results from our laboratory identifying the proteins reticulocyte binding protein 2b and StAR-related lipid transfer protein, as well as at least four novel candidates with similar levels of predicted protective efficacy. Assessment of theseP. vivaxproteins in further studies to confirm their potential and identify functional mechanisms of protection against clinical disease are warranted.