Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Although epidemiological observations, IgG passive transfer studies and experimental infections in humans all support the feasibility of developing highly effective malaria vaccines, the precise antigens that induce protective immunity remain uncertain. Here, we review the methodologies applied to vaccine candidate discovery for Plasmodium falciparum malaria from the pre- to post-genomic era. Probing of genomic and cDNA libraries with antibodies of defined specificities or functional activity predominated the former, whereas reverse vaccinology encompassing high throughput in silico analyses of genomic, transcriptomic or proteomic parasite data sets is the mainstay of the latter. Antibody-guided vaccine design spanned both eras but currently benefits from technological advances facilitating high-throughput screening and downstream applications. We make the case that although we have exponentially increased our ability to identify numerous potential vaccine candidates in a relatively short space of time, a significant bottleneck remains in their validation and prioritization for evaluation in clinical trials. Longitudinal cohort studies provide supportive evidence but results are often conflicting between studies. Demonstration of antigen-specific antibody function is valuable but the relative importance of one mechanism over another with regards to protection remains undetermined. Animal models offer useful insights but may not accurately reflect human disease. Challenge studies in humans are preferable but prohibitively expensive. In the absence of reliable correlates of protection, suitable animal models or a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying protective immunity in humans, vaccine candidate discovery per se may not be sufficient to provide the paradigm shift necessary to develop the next generation of highly effective subunit malaria vaccines.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/imm.12780

Type

Journal

Immunology

Publication Date

10/2017

Volume

152

Pages

195 - 206

Addresses

KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Coast, Kilifi, Kenya.

Keywords

Animals, Humans, Plasmodium falciparum, Malaria, Falciparum, Malaria Vaccines, Antibodies, Protozoan, Antigens, Protozoan, Proteomics, Gene Library, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Drug Discovery, High-Throughput Screening Assays