Efficacy of murine malaria sporozoite vaccines: implications for human vaccine development.

As part of a study of potential vaccines against malaria, the protective efficacy of sporozoite subunit vaccines was determined by using the Plasmodium berghei murine malaria model. Mice were immunized with recombinant DNA-produced or synthetic peptide-carrier subunit vaccines derived from the repetitive epitopes of the Plasmodium berghei circumsporozoite gene, or with radiation-attenuated sporozoites. Immunization with subunit vaccines elicited humoral responses that were equivalent to or greater than those elicited by irradiated sporozoites, yet the protection against sporozoite challenge induced by either of the subunit vaccines was far less than that achieved by immunization with attenuated sporozoites. Passive and adoptive transfer studies demonstrated that subunit vaccines elicited predominantly antibody-mediated protection that was easily overcome whereas irradiated sporozoites induced potent cell-mediated immunity that protected against high challenge doses of sporozoites. These studies indicate that new strategies designed to induce cellular immunity will be required for efficacious sporozoite vaccines.

Oral Salmonella typhimurium vaccine expressing circumsporozoite protein protects against malaria.

Immunization with radiation-attenuated malaria sporozoites induces potent cellular immune responses, but the target antigens are unknown and have not previously been elicited by subunit vaccines prepared from the circumsporozoite (CS) protein. A method is described here for inducing protective cell-mediated immunity to sporozoites by immunization with attenuated Salmonella typhimurium transformed with the Plasmodium berghei CS gene. These transformants constitutively express CS antigens and, when used to immunize mice orally, colonize the liver, induce antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity, and protect mice against sporozoite challenge in the absence of antisporozoite antibodies. These data indicate that the CS protein contains T cell epitopes capable of inducing protective cell-mediated immunity, and emphasize the importance of proper antigen presentation in generating this response. Analogous, orally administered vaccines against human malaria might be feasible.

Safety and immunogenicity of a Plasmodium vivax sporozoite vaccine.

A recombinant DNA Plasmodium vivax sporozoite vaccine containing the repeating region of the Salvador I strain circumsporozoite (CS) protein was produced in Escherichia coli. This vaccine was tested in 13 naive volunteers at doses of 10-1,000 micrograms. No serious adverse reactions were noted. None of 4 volunteers receiving the 10 micrograms dose developed antibodies measurable by ELISA. Six of 9 volunteers in the other dose groups developed measurable antibodies: 5 of 5 volunteers receiving 100 micrograms and 1 of 4 receiving 1,000 micrograms. Antibody responses measured by immunofluorescence assays paralleled those seen by ELISA. None of the volunteers developed antisera that inhibited sporozoite invasion of human hepatoma cells in vitro. Lack of a classical anamnestic response and lack of a typical dose response to increasing amounts of antigen suggests the possible presence of an immunosuppressive epitope in the repetitive region of the CS protein.

Immunization of Saimiri sciureus boliviensis with recombinant vaccines based on the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium vivax.

We report a trial in squirrel monkeys of 2 recombinant Plasmodium vivax malaria vaccine candidates based on the circumsporozoite (CS) protein. One recombinant (NSl81V20), produced in Escherichia coli, contains the repeat region of the CS protein. The other (VIVAX-1) recombinant is yeast-derived and contains the entire repeat domain and part of the surrounding N-terminal and C-terminal regions. Both antigens were administered with alum and muramyl tripeptide as adjuvants. No formulations caused toxic side effects. Both antigens, when administered with alum, induced high levels of sporozoite antibodies in all animals. Another group of animals was immunized with irradiated sporozoites alone. Upon challenge, a few immunized animals did not develop detectable parasitemia and others developed parasitemia only after a prolonged prepatent period. Monkeys immunized with irradiated sporozoites had higher levels of antibody but no increased protection. There was no correlation between protection and either antibody level or the in vitro proliferation of lymphocytes in response to the antigens. This is the first time P. vivax sporozoite vaccines have been tested in monkeys with a subsequent sporozoite challenge.

Plasmodium yoelii: characterization of a protective idiotype during malarial infection in mice.

We have previously identified and characterized a monoclonal antibody (McAb 302) with potent passive protective activity in mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii, a murine malarial parasite which depends on antibodies for resolution. To further study the appearance and regulation of this antibody during infection, we prepared syngeneic monoclonal antibodies specific for idiotopes present on McAb 302. Three hybridomas were established which synthesized antibodies that bound only to the homologous idiotype but which did not recognize isotypic specificities. All three of these antibodies were found to recognize distinct 302 idiotopes and two of these were shown to be specific for determinants associated with the antibody combining site of McAb 302. One of these monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies was used to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the 302 idiotype. When serum samples taken at different times from mice undergoing a primary infection with P. yoelii were tested in this assay, the 302 idiotype could not be detected even though the host was mounting a significant humoral response to the 230-kDa antigen recognized by McAb 302. These studies suggest that the idiotype of the protective McAb 302 is not a predominant one involved in the resolution of a P. yoelii infection and that only some idiotypes of antibodies directed to relevant plasmodial antigens possess significant biological activity. Therefore, protective immunization with plasmodial antigens may require the elicitation of selected idiotypes. Attempts to alter the course of P. yoelii infection by preimmunization with monoclonal or polyclonal anti-idiotypic reagents were unsuccessful.

Passive immunization against murine malaria with an IgG3 monoclonal antibody.

Spleen cells of BALB/c mice that were immune to the 17X strain of P. yoelii were fused with P3X63Ag8 myeloma cells. Two hundred fifty-three of 1053 hybrid cells produced antibodies reactive with disrupted 17X parasites in a solid phase radioimmunoassay. One of these antibodies, McAb 302, reacted with the merozoites of the 17X (nonlethal) and 17XL (lethal) variants of P. yoelii. Of greater significance, McAb 302 passively protected mice against challenge infection with the lethal variant. Mice treated with this antibody before infection developed low-grade parasitemia (less than 0.3%) of short duration when challenged with P. yoelii 17XL . In contrast, control mice that had been untreated or injected with ascites fluid lacking McAb 302 uniformly died with fulminating malaria upon challenge with the same parasite. In other experiments, McAb 302 was shown capable of controlling blood parasite levels when administered to mice with patent P. yoelii 17XL infections. Although all control mice died, mice protected with a single dose of McAb 302 ultimately cleared their infections. Regardless of how passive immunization was performed, mice given McAb 302 were resistant to subsequent challenge with P. yoelii 17XL , indicating they had developed significant immunity during their initial controlled infections. McAb 302 also showed pronounced passive protective activity against the nonlethal 17X strain of P. yoelii, which is a parasite of reticulocytes. The protection afforded by McAb 302 was specific, because mice passively immunized with this antibody died when challenged with the unrelated P. vinckei. McAb 302 was shown to possess the IgG3 isotype and precipitated a 230-kd protein plus several smaller polypeptides from metabolically labeled parasite antigen preparation derived from both variants of P. yoelii. It did not react with similar preparations of other murine plasmodial species.

High sensitivity multianalyte immunoassay using covalent DNA-labeled antibodies and polymerase chain reaction.

A multianalyte immunoassay for simultaneous detection of three analytes (hTSH, hCG and beta-Gal) has been demonstrated using DNA-labeled antibodies and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for amplification of assay response. The labeled antibodies were prepared by covalently coupling uniquely designed DNA oligonucleotides to each of the analyte-specific monoclonal antibodies. Each of the DNA oligonucleotide labels contained the same primer sequences to facilitate co-amplification by a single primer pair. Assays were performed using a two-antibody sandwich assay format and a mixture of the three DNA-labeled antibodies. Dose-response relationships for each analyte were demonstrated. Analytes were detected at sensitivities exceeding those of conventional enzyme immunoassays by approximately three orders of magnitude. Detection limits for hTSH, beta-Gal and hCG were respectively 1 x 10(-19), 1 x 10(-17) and 1 x 10(-17) mol. Given the enormous amplification afforded by PCR and the existing capability to differentiate DNA based on size or sequence differences, the use of DNA-labeled antibodies could provide the basis for the simultaneous detection of many analytes at sensitivities greater than those of existing antigen detection systems. These findings in concert with previous reports suggest this hybrid technology could provide a new generation of ultra-sensitive multianalyte immunoassays.

Immune response gene regulation of immunity to Plasmodium berghei sporozoites and circumsporozoite protein vaccines. Overcoming genetic restriction with whole organism and subunit vaccines.

We conducted a series of experiments to define Ir gene regulation of the immune response to Plasmodium berghei sporozoites and circumsporozoite (CS) protein-derived subunit vaccines. The studies demonstrated that there is no apparent genetic restriction of the capacity to develop protective immunity against a large sporozoite challenge after immunization with irradiation-attenuated P. berghei sporozoites; that the Th response to (Asp-Pro-Ala-Pro-Pro-Asn-Ala-Asn)n, the predominant protective B epitope on the P. berghei CS protein, is genetically restricted and regulated by Class II genes (I-Ab) and by genes in the Class I region (H-2Dk) or telomeric to this region; and that this restriction can be overcome by immunization with a r protein including the entire P. berghei CS protein. The results support the development of full length human CS protein vaccines to take advantage of all potential T epitopes on this protein.

A protective monoclonal antibody recognizes an epitope in the carboxyl-terminal cysteine-rich domain in the precursor of the major merozoite surface antigen of the rodent malarial parasite, Plasmodium yoelii.

The 195-kDa major merozoite surface antigen of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf PMMSA) is a potential candidate for the development of a blood-stage malarial vaccine. We have focused on an analogous 230-kDa Ag of the rodent malarial parasite, Plasmodium yoelii, in an effort to study this protein in an experimental model system. Previously we reported the cloning and sequencing of a 2.1-kb portion of the gene encoding the carboxyl-terminal 77 kDa of the Py PMMSA. This region contained the B cell epitope recognized by mAb 302, a mAb shown to protect mice passively against P. yoelii challenge infection. To localize this B cell epitope, we have inserted various restriction fragments of the cloned Py PMMSA sequence into the bacterial expression vector pMG27NSTerm. Recombinant peptides of 74, 40, 34, 17, and 10 kDa have been produced which bear the epitope recognized by mAb 302. The results demonstrate that this B cell epitope is located within the most carboxyl-region of the Py PMMSA which contains a series of ten cysteine residues, also found in the PMMSA of P. falciparum. Further analysis showed that the reduction of disulfide bonds as well as the deletion of CYS-607 of the cloned sequence, resulted in the loss of the expression of this epitope. It is of interest that this epitope does not appear to be a dominant B cell determinant of the Py PMMSA molecule during infection. Inasmuch as this cysteine-rich domain of Py PMMSA displays considerable homology with that of Pf PMMSA, our data suggest that this region of the Pf PMMSA should be considered for inclusion in the development of a blood-stage vaccine.

Analysis of mRNA coding for blood-stage antigens of a rodent malarial parasite, Plasmodium yoelii: mRNA coding for a possible protective antigen purify as poly A-.

We have analyzed mRNA coding for blood-stage antigens of Plasmodium yoelii by using cellfree translation of poly A+ and poly A- RNA in conjunction with immunoprecipitations. Most of the antigens recognized by mouse hyperimmune serum to P. yoelii were coded by poly A+ mRNA ranging in size from 15S to 28S. However, certain P. yoelii antigens, notably those with m.w. greater than 150 kilodaltons (kd), were coded by mRNA that purified as being poly A-. Antigens recognized by a protective monoclonal antibody (McAb) were coded by such operationally poly A- RNA. Three polypeptides apparently coded by different poly A- RNA were immunoprecipitated by this McAb. With the use of another McAb, a poly A+ mRNA of about 19S was identified as coding for a polypeptide of 46 kd synthesized in cellfree translation reactions. The same McAb recognized a 34 kd polypeptide in metabolically labeled polypeptides of P. yoelii. This antigen appeared to be processed in vivo but not in vitro. The observation that some mRNA of P. yoelii purify as being poly A- has significant implications for the construction of cDNA libraries that employ poly A+ mRNA of malarial parasites: if it applies to other species of plasmodia, some potentially important operationally poly A- mRNA may not be represented in such libraries.

Rapid and sensitive pollutant detection by induction of heat shock gene-bioluminescence gene fusions.

Heat shock gene expression is induced by a variety of environmental stresses, including the presence of many chemicals. To address the utility of this response for pollutant detection, two Escherichia coli heat shock promoters, dnaK and grpE, were fused to the lux genes of Vibrio fischeri. Metals, solvents, crop protection chemicals, and other organic molecules rapidly induced light production from E. coli strains containing these plasmid-borne fusions. Introduction of an outer membrane mutation, tolC, enhanced detection of a hydrophobic molecule, pentachlorophenol. The maximal response to pentachlorophenol in the tolC+ strain was at 38 ppm, while the maximal response in an otherwise isogenic tolC mutant was at 1.2 ppm. Stress responses were observed in both batch and chemostat cultures. It is suggested that biosensors constructed in this manner may have potential for environmental monitoring.

Plasmodium falciparum: sporozoite boosting of immunity due to a T-cell epitope on a sporozoite vaccine.

Plasmodium falciparum: Sporozoite boosting of immunity due to a T-cell epitope on a sporozoite vaccine. Experimental Parasitology 64, 64-70. The impact of a malaria sporozoite vaccine may be enhanced if protective immunity elicited by the vaccine is boosted by natural exposure to sporozoites. For this to occur, a helper T lymphocyte epitope present on the vaccine must be shared by sporozoites. These studies show that T cells from mice immunized with R32tet32, the Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite vaccine candidate, recognize an epitope of less than or equal to 7 amino acids derived from the circumsporozoite protein repeat region of R32tet32, as well as an epitope on the tet32 fusion protein tail of R32tet32. Exposure of R32tet32 immunized animals to P. falciparum sporozoites elicits a significant secondary antibody response which suggests that humans who are immunized and respond to this vaccine may be boosted by field exposure to sporozoite infected mosquitoes.

Evaluation of vaccines designed to induce protective cellular immunity against the Plasmodium yoelii circumsporozoite protein: vaccinia, pseudorabies, and Salmonella transformed with circumsporozoite gene.

In an attempt to induce a protective cytotoxic T-cell mediated immunity against sporozoites of Plasmodium yoelii, the gene encoding the P. yoelii circumsporozoite (CS) protein was engineered into three live vectors: vaccinia, attenuated pseudorabies, and attenuated Salmonella typhimurium. Balb/c mice were immunized with 1-4 doses of 10(8) pfu of the vaccinia construct (IP), 3 doses of 10(5), 10(6) or 10(7) pfu of pseudorabies construct (IV), and 3 doses of 10(9) salmonella transformants (orally). In the case of vaccinia and pseudorabies constructs, an excellent immune response was obtained as measured by antibodies to sporozoites. No protection or delay in prepatent period was seen in any of the experimental animals when challenged with 200 (vaccinia, pseudorabies) or 100 (salmonella) sporozoites, although mice immunized with irradiation-attenuated sporozoites were consistently protected against challenge with greater than 10(4) sporozoites. Since other vaccinia, pseudorabies, and salmonella CS constructs have been shown to induce cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) against the CS protein, it is likely that CTL against the CS protein were induced during these studies. It is currently unclear if the vaccines did not induce the appropriate CTL or inadequate numbers of CTL, or if CTL against the P. yoelii CS protein are inadequate to protect against sporozoite challenge.