Lymphopenia-induced spontaneous T-cell proliferation as a cofactor for autoimmune disease development.

Lymphopenia is thought to be a major cause of tolerance breakdown. In a lymphopenic environment, self-recognition events induce some T cells to expand strongly (a mechanism known as spontaneous proliferation). In this study, we show that in C57BL/6 mice, the repertoire resulting from lymphopenia-induced spontaneous CD4(+) T-cell proliferation included a proportion of regulatory T cells as large as that observed in a normal mouse, and no autoimmune disorder was observed. By contrast, in nonobese diabetic mice, differences in the ability of conventional and regulatory T cells to expand in response to lymphopenia led to an unbalance between these 2 T-cell compartments at the expense of regulatory T cells, resulting in the onset of autoimmune diseases. Notably, this accounted for the rapid transfer of diabetes with small numbers of BDC2.5 CD4(+) T cells. Thus, lymphopenia does not itself induce autoimmunity, but it should be considered as a cofactor for the development of autoimmune disorders.

Minimal role for the circumsporozoite protein in the induction of sterile immunity by vaccination with live rodent malaria sporozoites.

Immunization with live Plasmodium sporozoites under chloroquine prophylaxis (Spz plus CQ) induces sterile immunity against sporozoite challenge in rodents and, more importantly, in humans. Full protection is obtained with substantially fewer parasites than with the classic immunization with radiation-attenuated sporozoites. The sterile protection observed comprised a massive reduction in the hepatic parasite load and an additional effect at the blood stage level. Differences in the immune responses induced by the two protocols occur but are as yet little characterized. We have previously demonstrated that in mice immunized with irradiated sporozoites, immune responses against the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), the major component of the sporozoite's surface and the leading malaria vaccine candidate, were not essential for sterile protection. Here, we have employed transgenic Plasmodium berghei parasites in which the endogenous CSP was replaced by that of Plasmodium yoelii, another rodent malaria species, to assess the role of CSP in the sterile protection induced by the Spz-plus-CQ protocol. The data demonstrated that this role was minor because sterile immunity was obtained irrespective of the origin of CSP expressed by the parasites in this model of protection. The immunity was obtained through a single transient exposure of the host to the immunizing parasites (preerythrocytic and erythrocytic), a dose much smaller than that required for immunization with radiation-attenuated sporozoites.

Sterile protection against malaria is independent of immune responses to the circumsporozoite protein.

BACKGROUND: Research aimed at developing vaccines against infectious diseases generally seeks to induce robust immune responses to immunodominant antigens. This approach has led to a number of efficient bacterial and viral vaccines, but it has yet to do so for parasitic pathogens. For malaria, a disease of global importance due to infection by Plasmodium protozoa, immunization with radiation-attenuated sporozoites uniquely leads to long lasting sterile immunity against infection. The circumsporozoite protein (CSP), an important component of the sporozoite's surface, remains the leading candidate antigen for vaccines targeting the parasite's pre-erythrocytic stages. Difficulties in developing CSP-based vaccines that reproduce the levels of protection afforded by radiation-attenuated sporozoites have led us to question the role of CSP in the acquisition of sterile immunity. We have used a parasite transgenic for the CSP because it allowed us to test whether a major immunodominant Plasmodium antigen is indeed needed for the induction of sterile protective immunity against infection. METHODOLOGY/MAIN FINDINGS: We employed a P. berghei parasite line that expresses a heterologous CSP from P. falciparum in order to assess the role of the CSP in the protection conferred by vaccination with radiation-attenuated P. berghei parasites. Our data demonstrated that sterile immunity could be obtained despite the absence of immune responses specific to the CSP expressed by the parasite used for challenge. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that other pre-erythrocytic parasite antigens, possibly hitherto uncharacterised, can be targeted to induce sterile immunity against malaria. From a broader perspective, our results raise the question as to whether immunodominant parasite antigens should be the favoured targets for vaccine development.

1,3,5-Triazepane-2,6-diones as structurally diverse and conformationally constrained dipeptide mimetics: identification of malaria liver stage inhibitors from a small pilot library.

The development of the 1,3,5-triazepane-2,6-dione system as a novel, conformationally restricted, and readily accessible class of dipeptidomimetics is reported. The synthesis of the densely functionalized 1,3,5-triazepane-2,6-dione skeleton was achieved in only four steps from a variety of simple linear dipeptide precursors. To extend the practical value of 1,3,5-triazepane-2,6-diones, a general polymer-assisted solution-phase synthesis approach amenable to library production in a multiparallel format was developed. The conformational preferences of the 1,3,5-triazepane-2,6-dione skeleton were investigated in detail by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The ring exhibits a characteristic folded conformation which was compared to that of related dipeptide-derived scaffolds including the more planar 2,5-diketopiperazine (DKP). Molecular and structural diversity was increased further through post-cyclization appending operations at urea nitrogens. Preliminary biological screens of a small collection of 1,3,5-triazepane-2,6-diones revealed inhibitors of the underexplored malaria liver stage and suggest strong potential for this dipeptide-derived scaffold to interfere with and to modulate biological pathways.