Antigenicity and adhesiveness of a Plasmodium vivax VIR-E protein from Brazilian isolates

Abstract

BACKGROUND Plasmodium vivax, the major cause of malaria in Latin America, has a large subtelomeric multigene family called vir. In the P. vivax genome, about 20% of its sequences are vir genes. Vir antigens are grouped in subfamilies according to their sequence similarities and have been shown to have distinct roles and subcellular locations. However, little is known about vir subfamilies, especially when comes to their functions. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diversity, antigenicity, and adhesiveness of Plasmodium vivax VIR-E.METHODS Vir-E genes were amplified from six P. vivax isolates from Manaus, North of Brazil. The presence of naturally acquired antibodies to recombinant PvBrVIR-E and PvAMA-1 was evaluated by ELISA. Binding capacity of recombinant PvBrVIR-E was assessed by adhesion assay to CHO-ICAM1 cells.FINDINGS Despite vir-E sequence diversity, among those identified sequences, a representative one was chosen to be expressed as recombinant protein. The presence of IgM or IgG antibodies to PvBrVIR-E was detected in 23.75% of the study population while the presence of IgG antibodies to PvAMA-1 antigen was 66.25% in the same population. PvBrVIR-E was adhesive to CHO-ICAM1.MAIN CONCLUSIONS PvBrVIR-E was antigenic and adhesive to CHO-ICAM1.

Updates in central nervous system malaria: literature review and considerations

“…Schappo et al [18 ▪▪ ]. examined the genetic diversity, antigenicity, and adhesiveness of Plasmodium vivax VIR-E protein since its hypothesized pathogenetic role.…”

Experimental Models to Study the Pathogenesis of Malaria-Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

“…Apart from reduced parasite load in the lung, the absence of SBP-1 was shown to induce spontaneous resolution and less inflammatory responses in the lung, despite continuous presence of parasite ( Possemiers et al., 2021 ). For P. vivax , members of the vir multigene family have been suggested to mediate cytoadherence ( Carvalho et al., 2010 ; Bernabeu et al., 2012 ; Fernandez-Becerra et al., 2020 ; Schappo et al., 2022 ), bears close homology to the P. berghei bir multigene family ( Janssen et al., 2004 ). In the mouse model, PbA cytoadherence to host-derived receptor, CD36, was identified to be crucial for parasite sequestration ( Franke-Fayard et al., 2005 ; Lovegrove et al., 2008 ; Fonager et al., 2012 ; Anidi et al., 2013 ).…”

Vivax Malaria and the Potential Role of the Subtelomeric Multigene vir Superfamily

“…In P. falciparum, the var gene family encoding P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family performs a key role in antigenic variation and cytoadherence [30]. The similar multigene superfamily in P. vivax, vir, has been studied as an important multigene superfamily in the pathogenesis of vivax malaria and resulting host immune activation [31,32].…”