Abstract
Malaria infections remain a serious global health problem in the world, particularly among children and pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, malaria control and elimination is hampered by rapid development of resistance by the parasite and the vector to commonly used antimalarial drugs and insecticides, respectively. Therefore, vaccine-based strategies are sorely needed, including those designed to interrupt disease transmission. However, a prerequisite for such a vaccine strategy is the understanding of both the human and vector immune responses to parasite developmental stages involved in parasite transmission in both man and mosquito. Here, we review the naturally acquired humoral and cellular responses to sexual stages of the parasite while in the human host and the Anopheles vector. In addition, updates on current anti-gametocyte, anti-gamete, and anti-mosquito transmission blocking vaccines are given. We conclude with our views on some important future directions of research into P. falciparum sexual stage immunity relevant to the search for the most appropriate transmission-blocking vaccine.
Highlights
Malaria is one of the most important parasitic infections with the highest burden of mortality and morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa
Once in the human system, the sporozoites migrate to the Plasmodium falciparum Sexual Stage Immunity liver where they undergo pre-erythrocytic multiplication leading to the production of merozoites that move into the bloodstream
It should be pointed out that gametocyte infectiousness refers to the amount of mature gametocytes that can potently infect the mosquito after ingestion whereas sporozoite infectivity refers to the dose of potent sporozoites capable of being transmitted to humans during subsequent blood meals
Summary
Malaria control and elimination is hampered by rapid development of resistance by the parasite and the vector to commonly used antimalarial drugs and insecticides, respectively. Vaccine-based strategies are sorely needed, including those designed to interrupt disease transmission. A prerequisite for such a vaccine strategy is the understanding of both the human and vector immune responses to parasite developmental stages involved in parasite transmission in both man and mosquito. We review the naturally acquired humoral and cellular responses to sexual stages of the parasite while in the human host and the Anopheles vector. Updates on current anti-gametocyte, anti-gamete, and anti-mosquito transmission blocking vaccines are given. We conclude with our views on some important future directions of research into P. falciparum sexual stage immunity relevant to the search for the most appropriate transmission-blocking vaccine
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