MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF PLASMODIUM VIVAX SURFACE ANTIGENS

这个子项目是许多利用资源的研究子项目之一 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目的主要支持 而子项目的主要调查员可能是由其他来源提供的， 包括其它NIH来源。 列出的子项目总成本可能 代表子项目使用的中心基础设施的估计数量， 而不是由NCRR赠款提供给子项目或子项目工作人员的直接资金。 该项目的长期目标是分析和了解间日疟原虫裂殖子的结构和功能的分子组成。这些知识将确定和表征可能作为重要间日疟候选疫苗或抗疟药物干预目标的蛋白质。间日疟原虫是一种高度占优势的疟疾物种，每年造成8 000万或更多的疟疾病例，并在全世界造成重大的社会经济公共卫生后果。尽管如此，间日疟原虫仍在研究中，部分原因是它不能在体外长期可靠地培养。 因此，需要专门的专业知识和非人灵长类动物资源对这种人类寄生虫进行深入的实验室调查。 在非人类灵长类动物中使用间日疟原虫寄生虫和相关猿类疟疾物种诺氏疟原虫和食蟹猴疟原虫的实验模型是这项研究计划的基础。 今年，研究集中于确认11个间日疟原虫（Sal I）msp 3基因中的10个在感染中表达为裂殖子表面蛋白，并且令人惊讶的是，其中一个可能编码新的裂殖子顶端定位蛋白。其他努力集中在开发和测试一系列构建体以建立用于间日疟原虫研究的转染系统。 此外，间日疟原虫的寄生虫原种由玻利维亚塞米里猴感染产生，并加工用于特定的蛋白质组学和细胞生物学实验。这项研究广泛利用了最近可用的疟原虫基因组数据库，利用生物信息学，微阵列，蛋白质组学，遗传操作策略，高分辨率成像能力，功能粘附和入侵检测，免疫化学方法和细胞生物学技术。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The long term objective of this project is to analyse and understand structurally and functionally the molecular make-up of Plasmodium vivax merozoites. This knowledge will identify and characterize proteins that may serve as important vivax malaria vaccine candidates or targets of anti-malaria drug interventions. Plasmodium vivax is a highly predominant malaria species, causing 80 million cases or more of malaria each year and major socioeconomic public health ramifications worldwide. Nevertheless, P. vivax is under investigated in part because it cannot be cultured reliably long term in vitro. Specialized expertise and non human primate resources are therefore required for in depth laboratory investigations on this human parasite species. Experimental models using P. vivax parasites and the related simian malaria species P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi in non-human primates are fundamental to this research program. This year, studies focused on confirming that 10 of 11 P. vivax (Sal I) msp3 genes are expressed as merozoite surface proteins in an infection, and that surprisingly one of these may encode a novel merozoite apical localized protein. Other efforts focused on developing and testing a series of constructs to establish transfection systems for studies of P. vivax. Additionally, parasite stocks of P. vivax were generated from Saimiri boliviensis monkey infections and processed for specific proteomic and cell biological experiments. This research capitalizes extensively on the recent availability of Plasmodium genome databases, utilizing bioinformatics, microarrays, proteomics, genetic manipulation strategies, high resolution imaging capabilities, functional adhesion and invasion assays, immunochemical methods and cell biological technologies.