Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains a globally leading infectious disease problem. Despite decades of intense investigation, an efficacious and practical vaccine offering durable protection to people living in areas with transmission of malaria parasites remains an elusive goal. Our fragmentary understanding of the mechanisms of protective immunity to the disease is a major obstacle, and the almost complete focus on a very small subset of P. falciparum proteins as vaccine candidates has left most parasite antigens essentially unexplored as targets of acquired immunity. However, with the protein microarray technology, it is now possible to interrogate the entire parasite proteome for new vaccine candidates and for markers of parasite exposure. Recent mSphere papers describe the results of such research.
Highlights
Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains a globally leading infectious disease problem
THE PLASMODIAL HAYSTACK Most of the current vaccine candidates were discovered many years ago and showed promise in initial work, but many are still backed by less than rock solid evidence that they are key targets of protective immunity against P. falciparum malaria in humans
In areas with stable parasite transmission, clinical immunity to P. falciparum malaria is acquired in a piecemeal manner over several years and after many infections and disease episodes
Summary
Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains a globally leading infectious disease problem. Despite decades of intense investigation, an efficacious and practical vaccine offering durable protection to people living in areas with transmission of malaria parasites remains an elusive goal. THE PLASMODIAL HAYSTACK Most of the current vaccine candidates were discovered many years ago and showed promise in initial work, but many are still backed by less than rock solid evidence that they are key targets of protective immunity against P. falciparum malaria in humans.
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