Superior antibody immunogenicity of a viral-vectored RH5 blood-stage malaria vaccine in Tanzanian infants as compared to adults.

BACKGROUND: RH5 is a leading blood-stage candidate antigen for a Plasmodium falciparum vaccine; however, its safety and immunogenicity in malaria-endemic populations are unknown. METHODS: A phase 1b, single-center, dose-escalation, age-de-escalation, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in Bagamoyo, Tanzania (NCT03435874). Between 12th April and 25th October 2018, 63 healthy adults (18-35 years), young children (1-6 years), and infants (6-11 months) received a priming dose of viral-vectored ChAd63 RH5 or rabies control vaccine. Sixty participants were boosted with modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) RH5 or rabies control vaccine 8 weeks later and completed 6 months of follow-up post priming. Primary outcomes were the number of solicited and unsolicited adverse events post vaccination and the number of serious adverse events over the study period. Secondary outcomes included measures of the anti-RH5 immune response. FINDINGS: Vaccinations were well tolerated, with profiles comparable across groups. No serious adverse events were reported. Vaccination induced RH5-specific cellular and humoral responses. Higher anti-RH5 serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses were observed post boost in young children and infants compared to adults. Vaccine-induced antibodies showed growth inhibition activity (GIA) in vitro against P. falciparum blood-stage parasites; their highest levels were observed in infants. CONCLUSIONS: The ChAd63-MVA RH5 vaccine shows acceptable safety and reactogenicity and encouraging immunogenicity in children and infants residing in a malaria-endemic area. The levels of functional GIA observed in RH5-vaccinated infants are the highest reported to date following human vaccination. These data support onward clinical development of RH5-based blood-stage vaccines to protect against clinical malaria in young African infants. FUNDING: Medical Research Council, London, UK.

Analyses of human vaccine-specific circulating and bone marrow-resident B cell populations reveal benefit of delayed vaccine booster dosing with blood-stage malaria antigens.

We have previously reported primary endpoints of a clinical trial testing two vaccine platforms for the delivery of Plasmodium vivax malaria DBPRII: viral vectors (ChAd63, MVA), and protein/adjuvant (PvDBPII with 50µg Matrix-M™ adjuvant). Delayed boosting was necessitated due to trial halts during the pandemic and provides an opportunity to investigate the impact of dosing regimens. Here, using flow cytometry - including agnostic definition of B cell populations with the clustering tool CITRUS - we report enhanced induction of DBPRII-specific plasma cell and memory B cell responses in protein/adjuvant versus viral vector vaccinees. Within protein/adjuvant groups, delayed boosting further improved B cell immunogenicity compared to a monthly boosting regimen. Consistent with this, delayed boosting also drove more durable anti-DBPRII serum IgG. In an independent vaccine clinical trial with the P. falciparum malaria RH5.1 protein/adjuvant (50µg Matrix-M™) vaccine candidate, we similarly observed enhanced circulating B cell responses in vaccinees receiving a delayed final booster. Notably, a higher frequency of vaccine-specific (putatively long-lived) plasma cells was detected in the bone marrow of these delayed boosting vaccinees by ELISPOT and correlated strongly with serum IgG. Finally, following controlled human malaria infection with P. vivax parasites in the DBPRII trial, in vivo growth inhibition was observed to correlate with DBPRII-specific B cell and serum IgG responses. In contrast, the CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses were impacted by vaccine platform but not dosing regimen and did not correlate with in vivo growth inhibition in a challenge model. Taken together, our DBPRII and RH5 data suggest an opportunity for protein/adjuvant dosing regimen optimisation in the context of rational vaccine development against pathogens where protection is antibody-mediated.