Plasmodium falciparum serology: A comparison of two protein production methods for analysis of antibody responses by protein microarray.

The evaluation of protein antigens as putative serologic biomarkers of infection has increasingly shifted to high-throughput, multiplex approaches such as the protein microarray. In vitro transcription/translation (IVTT) systems-a similarly high-throughput protein expression method-are already widely utilised in the production of protein microarrays, though purified recombinant proteins derived from more traditional whole cell based expression systems also play an important role in biomarker characterisation. Here we have performed a side-by-side comparison of antigen-matched protein targets from an IVTT and purified recombinant system, on the same protein microarray. The magnitude and range of antibody responses to purified recombinants was found to be greater than that of IVTT proteins, and responses between targets from different expression systems did not clearly correlate. However, responses between amino acid sequence-matched targets from each expression system were more closely correlated. Despite the lack of a clear correlation between antigen-matched targets produced in each expression system, our data indicate that protein microarrays produced using either method can be used confidently, in a context dependent manner, though care should be taken when comparing data derived from contrasting approaches.

Sterile protection against human malaria by chemoattenuated PfSPZ vaccine.

A highly protective malaria vaccine would greatly facilitate the prevention and elimination of malaria and containment of drug-resistant parasites. A high level (more than 90%) of protection against malaria in humans has previously been achieved only by immunization with radiation-attenuated Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) sporozoites (PfSPZ) inoculated by mosquitoes; by intravenous injection of aseptic, purified, radiation-attenuated, cryopreserved PfSPZ ('PfSPZ Vaccine'); or by infectious PfSPZ inoculated by mosquitoes to volunteers taking chloroquine or mefloquine (chemoprophylaxis with sporozoites). We assessed immunization by direct venous inoculation of aseptic, purified, cryopreserved, non-irradiated PfSPZ ('PfSPZ Challenge') to malaria-naive, healthy adult volunteers taking chloroquine for antimalarial chemoprophylaxis (vaccine approach denoted as PfSPZ-CVac). Three doses of 5.12 × 104 PfSPZ of PfSPZ Challenge at 28-day intervals were well tolerated and safe, and prevented infection in 9 out of 9 (100%) volunteers who underwent controlled human malaria infection ten weeks after the last dose (group III). Protective efficacy was dependent on dose and regimen. Immunization with 3.2 × 103 (group I) or 1.28 × 104 (group II) PfSPZ protected 3 out of 9 (33%) or 6 out of 9 (67%) volunteers, respectively. Three doses of 5.12 × 104 PfSPZ at five-day intervals protected 5 out of 8 (63%) volunteers. The frequency of Pf-specific polyfunctional CD4 memory T cells was associated with protection. On a 7,455 peptide Pf proteome array, immune sera from at least 5 out of 9 group III vaccinees recognized each of 22 proteins. PfSPZ-CVac is a highly efficacious vaccine candidate; when we are able to optimize the immunization regimen (dose, interval between doses, and drug partner), this vaccine could be used for combination mass drug administration and a mass vaccination program approach to eliminate malaria from geographically defined areas.

Protein microarrays for parasite antigen discovery.

The host serological profile to a parasitic infection, such as schistosomiasis, can be used to define potential vaccine and diagnostic targets. Determining the host antibody response using traditional approaches is hindered by the large number of putative antigens in any parasite proteome. Parasite protein microarrays offer the potential for a high-throughput host antibody screen to simplify this task. In order to construct the array, parasite proteins are selected from available genomic sequence and protein databases using bioinformatic tools. Selected open reading frames are PCR amplified, incorporated into a vector for cell-free protein expression, and printed robotically onto glass slides. The protein microarrays can be probed with antisera from infected/immune animals or humans and the antibody reactivity measured with fluorophore labeled antibodies on a confocal laser microarray scanner to identify potential targets for diagnosis or therapeutic or prophylactic intervention.

Use of principal components analysis and protein microarray to explore the association of HIV-1-specific IgG responses with disease progression.

The role of HIV-1-specific antibody responses in HIV disease progression is complex and would benefit from analysis techniques that examine clusterings of responses. Protein microarray platforms facilitate the simultaneous evaluation of numerous protein-specific antibody responses, though excessive data are cumbersome in analyses. Principal components analysis (PCA) reduces data dimensionality by generating fewer composite variables that maximally account for variance in a dataset. To identify clusters of antibody responses involved in disease control, we investigated the association of HIV-1-specific antibody responses by protein microarray, and assessed their association with disease progression using PCA in a nested cohort design. Associations observed among collections of antibody responses paralleled protein-specific responses. At baseline, greater antibody responses to the transmembrane glycoprotein (TM) and reverse transcriptase (RT) were associated with higher viral loads, while responses to the surface glycoprotein (SU), capsid (CA), matrix (MA), and integrase (IN) proteins were associated with lower viral loads. Over 12 months greater antibody responses were associated with smaller decreases in CD4 count (CA, MA, IN), and reduced likelihood of disease progression (CA, IN). PCA and protein microarray analyses highlighted a collection of HIV-specific antibody responses that together were associated with reduced disease progression, and may not have been identified by examining individual antibody responses. This technique may be useful to explore multifaceted host-disease interactions, such as HIV coinfections.

High-throughput profiling of the humoral immune responses against thirteen human papillomavirus types by proteome microarrays.

We have developed microarrays with all eight proteins encoded by 13 different human papillomavirus types associated with anogenital cancer (HPV-16, -18, -31, -33, -35, -45, and -53), genital warts (HPV-6 and -11), or skin lesions (HPV-1, -2, -4, and -5). We analyzed the seroprevalence of antibodies in 546 patients, which had either cervical carcinomas, or precursor lesions, or which were asymptomatic. All patient groups contained sera ranging from high reactivity against multiple HPV proteins to low or no reactivity. Computational analyses showed the E7 proteins of carcinogenic HPV types as significantly more reactive in cancer patients compared to asymptomatic individuals and discriminating between cancer and HSIL or LSIL patients. Antibodies against E4 and E5 had the highest seroprevalence but did not exhibit differential reactivity relative to pathology. Our study introduces a new approach to future evaluation of the overall antigenicity of HPV proteins and cross-reaction between homologous proteins.