[Analysis of the antibody response to merozoite antigens in a malaria holoendemic area].

In the aim to determine the possible role of HLA-antigens in malaria infection, sera from 50 HLA-typed donors from Dielmo (Senegal) were tested in immunoblotting (using crude merozoites as antigen) and immunoprecipitation (using detergent-extracts from surface-iodinated merozoite as antigen). The donors were previously tested on lymphocyte proliferation in vitro and gamma-interferon production and grouped into two classes: high responders and low responders. In immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation experiments, no specific differences were found in the antibody reactivity with native merozoite antigen in individuals with high (HR) or low (LR) in vitro proliferative T cell responses. In other words, both groups of responders, high and low, showed antibodies in their sera against a wide range of different parasite antigens; although between individual donors striking differences were found. Individual donors had developed different levels of antibodies, or no antibodies at all, against individual natural antigens. These differences, however, could not be correlated with HR or LR. The band patterns obtained were compared with HLA-antigens of donors phenotypes. Results showed that there was no correlation found between the different merozoite antigens recognized by sera of the different donors or groups of donors (HR and LR) and the donors' HLA-phenotypes. The fact that donors with HLA-B51 all recognized (MSP1(42) and donors with DR1 recognized MSP1(19), was not a convincing correlation.