Esposito F, Gambella R, Modiano D, Lamizana L, Lombardi S, Rotigliano G, Habluetzel A
Dipartimento di Biologia Moleculare, Cellulare e Animale, Università degli Studi di Camerino, Italy.
Parassitologia. 1991 Apr;33(1):85-91.
The research efforts aimed at developing a vaccine against malaria, although failing thus far in their main objective, have produced molecular tools of great utility for epidemiological studies. For example, monoclonal antibodies directed against the repeats of Plasmodium circumsporozoite (CS) protein allowed the 2-site assay for detecting sporozoites in mosquitoes to be established. This immunoassay is advantageous compared with the conventional method of salivary gland dissection and microscopic examination, for it makes the identification of the sporozoite species possible, thanks to species-specific aminoacid sequences of the CS repeats. Other examples of vaccine research-derived tools are synthetic peptides reproducing the repetitive part of the CS protein, which allow antibodies to sporozoites, in individuals exposed to malaria, to be detected. Antibodies to the CS repeats of Plasmodium (Laverania) falciparum proved to be a reliable indicator of the intensity of malaria transmission and, therefore, were suitable for monitoring the impact of malaria control programmes. Finally, a project is outlined that, relying on the application of these tools, will aim at characterizing the transmission of Plasmodium (Plasmodium) malariae and at unveiling the possible relationship among different species thriving in the same distribution area, an issue which may become of relevance in view of the likely introduction of a vaccine directed against a single species.
旨在研发疟疾疫苗的研究工作，尽管目前在其主要目标上遭遇失败，但已产生了对流行病学研究极为有用的分子工具。例如，针对疟原虫环子孢子（CS）蛋白重复序列的单克隆抗体使得用于检测蚊子体内子孢子的双位点检测法得以建立。与传统的唾液腺解剖和显微镜检查方法相比，这种免疫测定法具有优势，因为借助CS重复序列的物种特异性氨基酸序列，它能够鉴定子孢子的种类。疫苗研究衍生工具的其他例子包括合成肽，这些合成肽复制了CS蛋白的重复部分，能够检测接触疟疾的个体体内针对子孢子的抗体。针对恶性疟原虫（拉维疟原虫）CS重复序列的抗体被证明是疟疾传播强度的可靠指标，因此适用于监测疟疾控制项目的影响。最后，概述了一个项目，该项目依靠这些工具的应用，旨在描述间日疟原虫的传播特征，并揭示在同一分布区域内不同物种之间可能存在的关系，鉴于可能引入针对单一物种的疫苗，这一问题可能变得至关重要。
