ANTIBODY REACTIVITY TO LINEAR EPITOPES OF PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM CYTOADHERENCE-LINKED ASEXUAL GENE 9 IN ASYMPTOMATIC CHILDREN AND ADULTS FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA

• Published in: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene Vol. 72; no. 6; pp. 708 - 713
• Main Authors: TRENHOLME, KATHARINE R, BOUTLIS, CRAIG S, KUNS, RACHEL, LAGOG, MOSES, BOCKARIE, MOSES J, GATTON, MICHELLE L, KEMP, DAVID J, GOOD, MICHAEL F, ANSTEY, NICHOLAS M, GARDINER, DONALD L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrence, KS ASTMH 01.06.2005; Allen Press
• Subjects: Adult; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Antibodies, Protozoan - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Adhesion - genetics; Cell Adhesion Molecules - chemistry; Cell Adhesion Molecules - genetics; Child; Genes, Protozoan; Humans; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; New Guinea - epidemiology; Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium falciparum - genetics; Plasmodium falciparum - immunology; Protozoan Proteins - chemistry; Protozoan Proteins - genetics; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Papua New Guinea; Melanesia; Oceania; New Guinea; Human; Protozoa; Apicomplexa; Antigenic determinant; Antibody; Adhesion; Protein; Plasmodium falciparum; Gene; Immunogenicity; Adult; Tropical medicine; Child
• ISSN: 0002-9637; 1476-1645
• DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.2005.72.708

The cytoadherence-linked asexual gene 9 (clag 9) of Plasmodium falciparum has been implicated in the cytoadherence of infected erythrocytes. To determine the immunogenicity of the clag 9 gene product (CLAG 9 protein) in humans, we measured antibody responses to 11 synthetic CLAG 9 peptides in a group of 177 asymptomatic children and adults subject to intense malaria exposure in Madang, Papua New Guinea. The CLAG 9 peptides were immunogenic in adults and children. Antibody responses to peptides 4 and 10 were high across all age groups and detectable in a majority of children less than five years of age. While CLAG 9 peptides are immunogenic in humans, longitudinal studies will be required to determine the longevity of antibody responses to CLAG 9 and their role in protection from disease.