Abstract
BackgroundThe carboxy-terminal 42 kDa region of Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP-142) is a leading candidate antigen for blood stage vaccine development. However, this region has been observed to be highly polymorphic among filed isolates of P. vivax. Therefore it is important to analyse the existing diversity of this antigen in the field isolates of P. vivax. In this study, the genetic diversity and natural selection in PvMSP-142 among P. vivax Korean isolates were analysed.MethodsA total of 149 P. vivax-infected blood samples collected from patients in Korea were used. The region flanking PvMSP-142 was amplified by PCR, cloned into Escherichia coli, and then sequenced. The polymorphic characteristic and natural selection of PvMSP-142 were analysed using the DNASTAR, MEGA4 and DnaSP programs.ResultsA total of 11 distinct haplotypes of PvMSP-142 with 40 amino acid changes, as compared to the reference Sal I sequence, were identified in the Korean P. vivax isolates. Most of the mutations were concentrated in the 33 kDa fragment (PvMSP-133), but a novel mutation was found in the 19 kDa fragment (PvMSP-119). PvMSP-142 of Korean isolates appeared to be under balancing selection. Recombination may also play a role in the resulting genetic diversity of PvMSP-142.ConclusionsPvMSP-142 of Korean P. vivax isolates displayed allelic polymorphisms caused by mutation, recombination and balancing selection. These results will be useful for understanding the nature of the P. vivax population in Korea and for development of a PvMSP-142 based vaccine against P. vivax.
Highlights
The carboxy-terminal 42 kDa region of Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP-142) is a leading candidate antigen for blood stage vaccine development
Merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1) is a high molecular mass protein abundantly expressed on the surface of the merozoite of malaria parasites and it plays a critical role in the erythrocyte invasion of the parasites [1]
The results suggested that a significant level of genetic diversity exists in the merozoite surface proteins (MSPs)-142, in MSP-133, among Korean P. vivax isolates and the region is undergoing a natural selection process
Summary
The carboxy-terminal 42 kDa region of Plasmodium vivax merozoite surface protein-1 (PvMSP-142) is a leading candidate antigen for blood stage vaccine development. This region has been observed to be highly polymorphic among filed isolates of P. vivax. Antibodies that recognize the C-terminal region of Plasmodium falciparum MSP-1 inhibit invasion of the merozoites into host erythrocytes in vitro [11,12,13,14], and immunization of experimental animals with MSP-119 confers protective immunity [15,16] These findings demonstrate that MSP-142 is a promising candidate antigen for blood stage vaccine development [1,17,18,19]. Genetic polymorphisms encoding this region, within and among the P. vivax population, are one of the important factors impeding vaccine development
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