Immunogenicity and in vitro protective efficacy of recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette Guerin (rBCG) expressing the 19 kDa merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1₁₉) antigen of Plasmodium falciparum

• Published in: Parasitology research (1987) Vol. 108; no. 4; pp. 887 - 897
• Main Authors: Nurul, Asma Abdullah, Norazmi, Mohd Nor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01.04.2011; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Antigens; Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine; BCG; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Blocking antibodies; C-Terminus; Cell Proliferation; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Carriers; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epitopes; Erythrocytes; Erythrocytes - parasitology; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models; Human protozoal diseases; Immune response; Immunofluorescence; Immunogenicity; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunology; Infectious diseases; Invertebrates; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes - immunology; Malaria; Malaria Vaccines - genetics; Malaria Vaccines - immunology; Malaria, Falciparum - prevention & control; Medical Microbiology; Medical sciences; Merozoite Surface Protein 1 - genetics; Merozoite Surface Protein 1 - immunology; Merozoites; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Microbiology; Mutant Proteins - genetics; Mutant Proteins - immunology; Mycobacterium bovis; Mycobacterium bovis - genetics; Original Paper; Parasitic diseases; Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium falciparum - genetics; Plasmodium falciparum - immunology; Protozoal diseases; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Vaccine development; Vaccines; Japan; Malaria; Bacille Calmette Guerin; Merozoite Invasion; Falciparum Merozoite; Preimmune Seron; Protozoa; Apicomplexa; Protozoal disease; Mycobacterium bovis; Parasite; Parasitosis; In vitro; Protein; Infection; Antigen; Plasmodium falciparum; Immunogenicity; Mycobacteriales; Merozoite; Mycobacteriaceae; Bacteria; Actinomycetes
• ISSN: 0932-0113; 1432-1955
• DOI: 10.1007/s00436-010-2130-5

Vaccine development against the blood-stage malaria parasite is aimed at reducing the pathology of the disease. We constructed a recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette Guerin (rBCG) expressing the 19 kDa C-terminus of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1₁₉) to evaluate its protective ability against merozoite invasion of red blood cells in vitro. A mutated version of MSP-1₁₉, previously shown to induce the production of inhibitory but not blocking antibodies, was cloned into a suitable shuttle plasmid and transformed into BCG Japan (designated rBCG016). A native version of the molecule was also cloned into BCG (rBCG026). Recombinant BCG expressing the mutated version of MSP-1₁₉ (rBCG016) elicited enhanced specific immune response against the epitope in BALB/c mice as compared to rBCG expressing the native version of the epitope (rBCG026). Sera from rBCG016-immunized mice contained significant levels of specific IgG, especially of the IgG2a subclass, against MSP-1₁₉ as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The sera was reactive with fixed P. falciparum merozoites as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and inhibited merozoite invasion of erythrocytes in vitro. Furthermore, lymphocytes from rBCG016-immunized mice demonstrated higher proliferative response against the MSP-1₁₉ antigen as compared to those of rBCG026- and BCG-immunized animals. rBCG expressing the mutated version of MSP-1₁₉ of P. falciparum induced enhanced humoral and cellular responses against the parasites paving the way for the rational use of rBCG as a blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate.