Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Translational Immunology Research Program, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland.
KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research-Coast, Kilifi, Kenya.
FEBS Lett. 2020 Aug;594(16):2502-2517. doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.13772. Epub 2020 Apr 1.
The malaria parasite has for long been thought to escape host complement attack as a survival strategy. However, it was only recently that complement evasion mechanisms of the parasite were described. Simultaneously, the role of complement in antibody-mediated naturally acquired and vaccine-induced protection against malaria has also been reported. Such findings should be considered in future vaccine design, given the current need to develop more efficacious vaccines against malaria. Parasite antigens derived from molecules mediating functions crucial for parasite survival, such as complement evasion, or parasite antigens against which antibody responses lead to an efficient complement attack could present new candidates for vaccines. In this review, we discuss recent findings on complement evasion by the malaria parasites and the emerging role of complement in antibody-mediated protection against malaria. We emphasize that immune responses to vaccines based on complement inhibitors should not only induce complement-activating antibodies but also neutralize the escape mechanisms of the parasite.
疟原虫长期以来一直被认为是通过逃避宿主补体攻击来生存的一种策略。然而，直到最近才描述了寄生虫的补体逃避机制。同时，补体在抗体介导的自然获得性和疫苗诱导性疟疾保护中的作用也有报道。鉴于目前需要开发更有效的疟疾疫苗，这些发现应该在未来的疫苗设计中加以考虑。源自介导寄生虫生存至关重要功能的分子的寄生虫抗原，例如逃避补体，或针对抗体反应导致有效补体攻击的寄生虫抗原，可能成为疫苗的新候选物。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了疟原虫逃避补体的最新发现以及补体在抗体介导的疟疾保护中的新兴作用。我们强调，基于补体抑制剂的疫苗的免疫反应不仅应诱导补体激活抗体，还应中和寄生虫的逃避机制。
