Functional assays of immunity to malaria in pregnant women

由于受感染的红细胞粘附在胎盘上，孕妇极易感染疟疾。针对这些受感染红细胞的抗体可以阻断其胎盘粘附和/或促进免疫细胞清除它们，从而改善妊娠结局。我们的目标是通过更好地了解胎盘粘附机制，确定保护性免疫靶点以及保护胎盘疟疾及其后果的抗体相关物，为疫苗设计提供信息。

Pregnant women are highly susceptible to malaria due to the adhesion of infected erythrocytes to the placenta. Antibodies to these infected erythrocytes can block their placental adhesion and/or facilitate their clearance by immune cells, improving pregnancy outcomes. We aim at informing vaccine design by better understanding the placental adhesion mechanisms and identifying targets of protective immunity as well as antibody correlates of protection from placental malaria and its consequences.