Characterization of secreted small cysteine-rich proteins (CSs) as a Plasmodium vaccine candidate

Malaria is a preventable, diagnosable and treatable disease. This disease still causes thousands of deaths each year, and millions of people are at risk of contracting the infection. Almost all cases of Malaria in the world are caused by Plasmodium vivax or P. falciparum. There is an urgent need to eliminate Malaria, as drug resistance has reappeared and it is agreed that to achieve the elimination of Malaria, the implementation of existing strategies and the development of new tools, such as an efficient vaccine, are urgently required. The development of a vaccine against Malaria is one of the greatest challenges facing Biomedical Sciences in recent years. Vaccines against P. vivax are an even greater challenge, due to the fact that the parasite cannot be put into continuous culture in the laboratory. The lack of cultures has been a major obstacle in delaying pre-clinical testing of vaccine formulations against P. vivax based on known antigens, and also hinders the discovery of new antigens. The CSS protein was recently described in interaction with RIPR in P. knowlesi, and in the laboratory it was found that CSS interacts with the RIPR of P. berghei. RIPR is part of a protein complex on the P. falciparum membrane, where it interacts with PfRh5 and PfCyRPA. Antibodies against members of this complex (RIPR-interacting proteins) inhibit erythrocyte invasion by the parasite, therefore all of these proteins are considered promising vaccine candidates. Since CSS interacts with RIPR and is essential for the survival of the parasite, we hypothesized that it could be a good candidate for a vaccine against Plasmodium.

Project details

Basic Science
Vaccines

Mar 2020 — Aug 2024

Brazil