Scientists have taken another big step forward towards developing a vaccine that’s effective against the most severe forms of malaria.
Professor Denise Doolan from James Cook University’s Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) was part of an international team that narrowed down the malaria proteins and disease-fighting antibodies that could be used to develop a vaccine against severe malaria.
She said according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation, there were 219 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2017, leading to an estimated 435,000 deaths.
“What makes this work so difficult is the particular survival strategy of the malaria parasite in the human body. It grows within blood cells and inserts proteins into the surface of the blood cell so it sticks to the walls of blood vessels,” Professor Doolan said.
“But it changes these proteins to escape from immune responses, and every strain has a different set of proteins, making the identification of vaccine targets extraordinarily hard.”
The team of collaborators – involving JCU, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) at Deakin University, and malaria experts from Papua New Guinea, France and the USA – collected hundreds of PfEMP1 proteins from malaria strains from children in PNG who had been naturally infected by the disease, made a custom protein microarray of those strains, and then examined serum samples to identify which of the many PfEMP1 variants were associated with protection.
The research team managed to pinpoint which antibodies were most effective in fighting the most severe forms of malaria.
Associate Professor Alyssa Barry, who leads the Systems Epidemiology of Infection unit within the Deakin School of Medicine, said the findings from the project were a major step towards developing a viable vaccine for the disease.
“It’s the first time anyone has shown this – for years, researchers have thought that developing a malaria vaccine based on PfEMP1 would be virtually impossible, because the proteins are just so diverse,” Associate Professor Barry said.
“It’s similar to the flu vaccine, where you have to keep adjusting and updating it as the virus strains evolve from year to year. Malaria is even more diverse than influenza – one village in a country such as PNG could contain thousands of possible malaria strains. But in malaria-endemic areas, children who are repeatedly infected develop immunity to severe malaria by the time they’re about two years old, so we know antimalarial immunity is possible, and it can develop after exposure to only a few strains.”
Associate Professor Barry said while immunity to milder forms of malaria presented a “formidable obstacle”, immunity to severe malaria targets only a small subset of proteins that have many similarities between strains – making the essential components for a vaccine much easier to identify.
“Using genomic sequencing, we collected PfEMP1 proteins from different strains of malaria, measured antibodies to those proteins and then used machine learning to identify the protective antibody – the biomarker of immunity – that protects kids against disease,” she said.
“We were able to identify these antibodies by monitoring for patterns of disease, following the children in PNG for 16 months to determine which of them were susceptible to the more severe forms of the disease, and those who were protected and only experienced milder forms of the disease.
“It’s been a long road, and has involved a large team, but it’s a major step forward, and this provides hope that creating a vaccine might be possible.”
The full research findings, “Protective immunity against severe malaria in children is associated with a limited repertoire of antibodies to conserved PfEMP1 variants”, were published today in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.
Learn more: Scientists close in on malaria vaccine
The Latest on: Malaria
- Rotary trains 317 health workers tackle malaria and malnutrition in Oyo, Lagos, and Ogun stateson May 1, 2024 at 6:31 pm
The Rotary Action Group for Reproductive Maternal and Child Health said that it had trained over 317 health professionals from 26 local governments in ...
- World Malaria Day: ClearlineHMO, Greenlife donate malaria aid to communityon May 1, 2024 at 3:06 am
Speaking at the event held at the Oba Palace, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Clearline HMO, Olaoye Olubukola, said the outreach to commemorate World Malaria Day was aimed at helping the ...
- New monoclonal antibody vaccine slashes malaria risk in childrenon April 30, 2024 at 8:19 pm
A recent study demonstrates that the monoclonal antibody-based vaccine L9LS is safe for children aged 6 to 10 and significantly reduces the risk of malaria infection and clinical symptoms by 70% and ...
- Sarasota County prepares for mosquito season after last year’s malaria outbreakon April 30, 2024 at 3:29 pm
As we inch closer to some of the rainiest months of the year, residents can expect to see more mosquitoes out and about.
- Let's recommit to strategies for malaria-free, equitable world by 2030on April 30, 2024 at 6:17 am
Malaria remains a pressing public health challenge especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The 2021 World Malaria Report estimated that there were 241 million cases and about 631,000 deaths from the disease ...
- Supporting Ethiopia in the Battle Against Malaria - a Vital Mission of the U.S. Govt [opinion]on April 29, 2024 at 2:52 am
As we recognize World Malaria Day on April 25, we reflect on the relentless battle against malaria, a life-threatening disease transmitted by female malaria-carrying mosquitoes. According to the World ...
- Global Malaria Treatment Industryon April 26, 2024 at 5:45 am
Global Malaria Treatment Industry is expected to grow at a 5% CAGR, reaching a value of US$ 2.93 Billion by the end of 2033 ...
- SA on track to achieve malaria elimination status by 2028on April 25, 2024 at 9:10 pm
South Africa is today joining the global community to observe World Malaria Day to recognise global efforts to control malaria to reduce the burden of the disease and avoid preventable deaths.
- West Africa's Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launch malaria vaccinationon April 25, 2024 at 10:59 am
Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launched large-scale malaria vaccine programmes on Thursday under an Africa-focused initiative that hopes to save tens of thousands of children's lives per year across ...
- Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never lefton April 25, 2024 at 9:23 am
When cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the U.S last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving the threat of some diseases.
via Bing News
The Latest on: Malaria vaccine
- New monoclonal antibody vaccine slashes malaria risk in childrenon April 30, 2024 at 8:19 pm
A recent study demonstrates that the monoclonal antibody-based vaccine L9LS is safe for children aged 6 to 10 and significantly reduces the risk of malaria infection and clinical symptoms by 70% and ...
- Mozambique: Government to introduce malaria vaccine in Juneon April 30, 2024 at 12:12 am
The Mozambican health minister, Armindo Tiago, has announced that a malaria vaccine will be introduced into the country’s health service in June of this year. According to the minister, who was ...
- R21 anti-malaria vaccine is a game changer: scientist who helped design it reflects on 30 years of research, and what it promiseson April 28, 2024 at 1:00 am
More than 600,000 people die of malaria each year. With low-cost, very effective vaccines being deployed we should be able to get this down to 200,000 or less by the end of this decade then the ...
- WHO commends malaria vaccine roll-out in three more African countrieson April 26, 2024 at 3:20 am
Today’s launch brings to eight the number of countries on the continent to offer the malaria vaccine as part of the childhood immunisation programme." ...
- Three more West African countries inaugurate malaria vaccinationon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone, on Thursday, launched large-scale malaria vaccine programmes under an Africa-focused initiative that hopes to save tens of thousands of children’s lives per year ...
- Q&A: Scientist who helped design R21 anti-malaria vaccine reflects on 30 years of research, and what it promiseson April 25, 2024 at 9:17 am
Until three years ago nobody had developed a vaccine against any parasitic disease. Now there are two against malaria: the RTS,S and the R21 vaccines.
- Vaccines are a glimmer of hope against malaria, but the battle has only just begunon April 25, 2024 at 6:10 am
By the time you reach the end of this article, three children will have died from malaria – a disease that casts a dark shadow over nearly half of the world’s population, claiming victims ...
- Malaria is still killing people in Kenya, but a vaccine and local drug production may helpon April 25, 2024 at 12:17 am
Malaria is still a significant public health challenge in Kenya, but an important pilot of the world’s first malaria vaccine may help.
- R21 Anti-Malaria Vaccine Is a Game Changer - Scientist Who Helped Design It Reflects On 30 Years of Research, and What It Promises [analysis]on April 24, 2024 at 11:10 pm
Until three years ago nobody had developed a vaccine against any parasitic disease. Now there are two against malaria: the RTS,S and the R21 vaccines. Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at ...
- Two new malaria vaccines are being rolled out across Africa: How they work and what they promiseon April 23, 2024 at 11:40 am
Malaria incidents are on the rise. There were 249 million cases of this parasitic disease in 2022, 5 million more than in 2021. Africa suffers more than any other region from malaria, with 94% of ...
via Bing News