A Miniaturized Assay to Evaluate <i>Plasmodium cynomolgi</i> and <i>Plasmodium knowlesi</i> as Models for Prioritizing <i>Plasmodium vivax</i> Vaccine Targets
Plasmodium vivax vaccine discovery lags behind Plasmodium falciparum due to the absence of a reliable in vitro culture system. We developed a miniature 384-well assay for the evolutionarily related parasite species Plasmodium cynomolgi and Plasmodium knowlesi, deploying it for screening invasion inhibition efficacy of antibodies elicited against 8 P. vivax proteins. All 8 antibodies showed consistent inhibition across both P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi species, correlating with inhibition in ex vivo P. vivax isolates. The use of simian malaria parasites and this assay represent a robust, high-throughput method for prioritizing P. vivax blood-stage vaccine candidates.
Authors
- Sheena Dass (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7694-8867)
- Deboki Naskar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0902-3869)
- Usheer Kanjee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3169-4557)
- Marcelo U. Ferreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5293-9090)
- Julian C. Rayner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9835-1014)
- Prasun Kundu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6481-3412)
Institutions
- University of London (GB)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Cambridge School (PT)
- Bridge University (SS)
- Institute for Medical Research (MY)
- Institute of Biomedical Science (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Published
- 2025-03-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf136
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Malaria Research and Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.64
Funders
- Emory University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, National Institutes of Health