2003/07/28 by Denise L. Doolan, Scott Southwood, Daniel Freilich +12 · 6 citations
Medicine · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · #Malaria Research and Control #vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches #Vector-borne infectious diseases
paper · doi:10.1073/pnas.1633254100
openalex publication_date 2003/07/28 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/07
The recent explosion in genomic sequencing has made available a wealth of data that can now be analyzed to identify protein antigens, potential targets for vaccine development. Here we present, in the context of Plasmodium falciparum, a strategy that rapidly identifies target antigens from large and complex genomes. Sixteen antigenic proteins recognized by volunteers immunized with radiation-attenuated P. falciparum sporozoites, but not by mock immunized controls, were identified. Several of these were more antigenic than previously identified and well characterized P. falciparum-derived protein antigens. The data suggest that immune responses to Plasmodium are dispersed on a relatively large number of parasite antigens. These studies have implications for our understanding of immunodominance and breadth of responses to complex pathogens.