Miniaturization of a high-throughput pLDH-based Plasmodium falciparum growth inhibition assay for small volume samples from preclinical and clinical vaccine trials.

To date, no immune correlates for blood stage-specific immunity against Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites have been identified. Growth and/or invasion inhibition assays using sera from Phase 2a/b trials will aid in determining whether correlations with protective immunity can be established for these assays. A major constraint in the ability to evaluate functional antibody activities from populations in endemic areas is the relatively limited availability of sufficient sample quantity. For this reason, we developed a miniaturized and high-throughput method to measure growth inhibitory activity by quantification of parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) in a 384-microtiter plate format. This culture method can be extended beyond the pLDH-based readout to other techniques commonly used to determine growth/invasion inhibition.