Virus‐like particles expressing Plasmodium berghei MSP‐8 induce protection against P. berghei infection

Abstract

Aims: Merozoite surface protein 8 (MSP-8) of Plasmodium parasites plays an important role in erythrocyte invasion and is a potential malaria vaccine candidate. Methods and Results: In this study, virus-like particles (VLPs) expressing MSP-8 of Plasmodium berghei on the surface of influenza virus matrix protein 1 (M1) core protein were generated for vaccine efficacy assessment. Mice were intramuscularly (IM) immunized with MSP-8 VLPs twice and challenge-infected with P. berghei. We found that VLP vaccination elicited higher levels of P. berghei-specific IgG antibody response in the sera, along with blood CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell response enhancement compared to the naïve control mice. CD4 + and CD8 + effector memory T-cell and memory B-cell responses in the spleen were found to be higher in VLP-immunized mice compared to control mice. VLP vaccination significantly reduced inflammatory cytokine (IFN-γ) response in the spleen and parasitemia levels in blood compared to naïve control mice. Conclusions: These results indicate that MSP-8 containing virus-like particles could be a vaccine candidate for blood-stage vaccine design.

Influenza virus-like particle vaccine containing both apical membrane antigen 1 and microneme-associated antigen proteins of Plasmodium berghei confers protection in mice

“…In the present study, both AMA1 and MIC were recognized by P. berghei antibody by western blot, which implies that both of these antigens were correctly expressed and reflect their native conformations [ 2 , 3 ]. VLPs immunization elicited P. berghei -specific IgG and IgG2a antibody responses, indicating VLPs containing both AMA1 and MIC were involved in protection.…”

“…In our previous study, VLPs immunizations from Toxoplasma gondii antigenic proteins or P. berghei MSP-8 and MSP-9 significantly lessened inflammatory cytokine responses [ 2 , 5 , 28 ]. Consistent with these findings, in our current study, VLP-immunized mice showed significant reductions in pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α compared to the naïve challenge control, which may contribute to lessened parasitemia.…”

“…Global malaria incidence rates have been declining over the past few decades, but malaria continues to remain one of the most devastating infectious diseases affecting the globe today. In the year 2018, malaria was responsible for approximately 405,000 deaths with a vast majority of these occurring in various parts of Africa [ 1 , 2 ]. Developing an efficacious malaria vaccine is a monumental task and to date, a licensed malaria vaccine remains unavailable simply due to the complex nature of the Plasmodium parasite’s life cycle.…”

Protective Immunity Induced by Immunization with Baculovirus, Virus-like Particle, and Vaccinia Virus Expressing the AMA1 of Plasmodium berghei

“…Previously, VLPs were shown to be equally effective inducers of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses regardless of homologous or heterologous immunization methods [ 38 ], and this contributed to enhancing the CD8 + T cell circulation in the blood of mice. Although memory T cell responses were not assessed in the present study, our previous findings involving MSP-8 and MSP-9 VLP vaccines reported a potent induction of memory T cell responses following immunization [ 39 , 40 ]. This is also true for various vectored-vaccine platforms that utilized an immunization strategy similar to that incorporated in the present study [ 41 ].…”

Recombinant AMA1 Virus-like Particle Antigen for Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii Infection

“…Toxoplasma gondii RH, ME49, and P. berghei ANKA strains were maintained in seven-week-old female BALB/c mice obtained from NARA Biotech (Seoul, Korea) following the methods described previously [ 21 , 22 ]. Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 insect cells were cultured in serum-free SF900-II medium (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) and subsequently used to generate recombinant baculovirus (rBV) and virus-like particles (VLPs).…”