MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF PLASMODIUM VIVAX SURFACE ANTIGENS

这个子项目是利用资源的许多研究子项目之一。 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。对子项目的主要支持 子项目的首席调查员可能是由其他来源提供的， 包括美国国立卫生研究院的其他来源。为子项目列出的总成本可能 表示该子项目使用的中心基础设施的估计数量， 不是由NCRR赠款提供给次级项目或次级项目工作人员的直接资金。 该项目的长期目标是从结构和功能上分析和了解间日疟原虫裂殖子的分子组成。这一知识将确定和表征可能作为重要的间日疟疫苗候选或抗疟疾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8000万或更多的疟疾病例，并在全球范围内造成重大的社会经济公共卫生后果。然而，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，对这种人类寄生虫物种进行深入的实验室研究需要专业知识和非人类灵长类动物资源。在非人类灵长类动物中使用间日疟原虫和相关的猿猴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，研究的重点是证实11个间日疟原虫(SalI)msp3基因中的10个在感染中以裂殖子表面蛋白的形式表达，并且令人惊讶的是，其中一个可能编码一种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物，以建立间日疟原虫研究的转基因系统。此外，间日疟原虫的寄生虫种群是从感染BoliviensSaimiri的猴子中产生的，并进行了特定的蛋白质组和细胞生物学实验。这项研究广泛利用了最近可用的疟原虫基因组数据库，利用了生物信息学、微阵列、蛋白质组学、遗传操作策略、高分辨率成像能力、功能黏附和侵袭分析、免疫化学方法和细胞生物技术。

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.