Development of a MSP1-p42 Subunit Vaccine for Malaria

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DESCRIPTION (provided by the applicant): Malaria is a tropical parasitic disease that poses a significant health threat to much of the world. Each year, approximately 500 million people become infected and more than 2 million die. There is a great need to control the spread of this disease. One of the main focuses of malaria vaccine development has been the on use of recombinant proteins derived from the various developmental stages of the parasite. The goal of the proposed research is to produce highly immunogenic recombinant subunits that can be formulated with clinically relevant adjuvants in an effort to advance candidate vaccine antigens from preclinical status to clinical status. Phase I research demonstrated that the MSP-1 p42 antigen is expressed at high levels in the Drosophila cell expression system. The expressed antigen has been demonstrated to have relevant antigenic and immunogenic properties associated with native structure. Phase II research will further characterize the immunogenic properties of the abundantly expressed p42. The ability of the p42 antigen to provide a protective response in monkeys when formulated with clinically relevant antigens will be tested. The success of the proposed research would result in a product that could then be tested in humans. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Malaria poses a significant world-wide health threat. Currently, there is no vaccine for malaria. The proposed research will test the efficacy of a malaria vaccine candidate protein subunits to elicit protective responses in Aotus monkeys when formulated with clinically relevant adjuvants. The ability of this antigen to provide a protective response when formulated with one or more clinically relevant adjuvant would contribute to the development of a safe, efficacious and cost effective malaria vaccine.