A genetically attenuated malaria vaccine candidate based on P. falciparum b9/slarp gene-deficient sporozoites
- Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Netherlands
- Institute for Translational Vaccinology, Netherlands
- Jikei University School of Medicine, Japan
- Ghent University and University Hospital, Belgium
- Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, France
- Sanaria Inc., United States
Abstract
A highly efficacious pre-erythrocytic stage vaccine would be an important tool for the control and elimination of malaria but is currently unavailable. High-level protection in humans can be achieved by experimental immunization with Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites attenuated by radiation or under anti-malarial drug coverage. Immunization with genetically attenuated parasites (GAP) would be an attractive alternative approach. Here we present data on safety and protective efficacy using sporozoites with deletions of two genes i.e. the newly identified b9 and slarp, which govern independent and critical processes for successful liver-stage development. In the rodent malaria model, PbΔb9ΔslarpGAP was completely attenuated showing no breakthrough infections while efficiently inducing high level protection. The human PfΔb9ΔslarpGAP generated without drug-resistance markers were infective to human hepatocytes in vitro and to humanized mice engrafted with human hepatocytes in vivo but completely aborted development after infection. These findings support the clinical development of a PfΔb9ΔslarpSPZ vaccine.
Article and author information
Author details
Reviewing Editor
- Nicholas J White, Mahidol University, Thailand
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All animal experiments with rodent parasites performed at the LUMC (Netherlands) were approved by the Animal Experiments Committee of the Leiden University Medical Center (DEC 07171; DEC 10099) and at the RUNMC (Netherlands) by the Radboud University Experimental Animal Ethical Committee (RUDEC 2008-123, RUDEC 2008-148, RUDEC 2010-250, RUDEC 2011-022, RUDEC 2011-208). The Dutch Experiments on Animal Act is established under European guidelines (EU directive 86/609/CEE) regarding the Protection of Animals used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes.Human liver-uPA-SCID mice (chimeric mice) were produced as described before. The study protocol for infecting these mice with P. falciparum sporozoites was approved by the animal ethics committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Ghent University.The study protocol was approved by the animal ethics committee of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the Ghent University.
Human subjects: Primary human hepatocytes were isolated from healthy parts of human liver fragments which were collected during unrelated surgery in agreement with French national ethical regulations and after oral informed consent from adult patients undergoing partial hepatectomy as part of their medical treatment (Service de Chirurgie Digestive, H�pato-Bilio-Pancr�atique et Transplantation H�patique, H�pital Piti�-Salp�tri�re, Paris, France). The collection and use of this material for the purposes of the study presented here were undertaken in accordance with French national ethical guidelines under Article L. 1121-1 and article L. 1211-2
Version history
- Received: June 4, 2014
- Accepted: November 19, 2014
- Accepted Manuscript published: November 19, 2014 (version 1)
- Accepted Manuscript updated: November 21, 2014 (version 2)
- Version of Record published: December 23, 2014 (version 3)
Copyright
© 2014, van Schaijk et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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A genetically attenuated malaria vaccine candidate based on P. falciparum b9/slarp gene-deficient sporozoites
eLife 3:e03582.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03582
Further reading
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- Microbiology and Infectious Disease
The agr quorum-sensing system links Staphylococcus aureus metabolism to virulence, in part by increasing bacterial survival during exposure to lethal concentrations of H2O2, a crucial host defense against S. aureus. We now report that protection by agr surprisingly extends beyond post-exponential growth to the exit from stationary phase when the agr system is no longer turned on. Thus, agr can be considered a constitutive protective factor. Deletion of agr resulted in decreased ATP levels and growth, despite increased rates of respiration or fermentation at appropriate oxygen tensions, suggesting that Δagr cells undergo a shift towards a hyperactive metabolic state in response to diminished metabolic efficiency. As expected from increased respiratory gene expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated more in the agr mutant than in wild-type cells, thereby explaining elevated susceptibility of Δagr strains to lethal H2O2 doses. Increased survival of wild-type agr cells during H2O2 exposure required sodA, which detoxifies superoxide. Additionally, pretreatment of S. aureus with respiration-reducing menadione protected Δagr cells from killing by H2O2. Thus, genetic deletion and pharmacologic experiments indicate that agr helps control endogenous ROS, thereby providing resilience against exogenous ROS. The long-lived ‘memory’ of agr-mediated protection, which is uncoupled from agr activation kinetics, increased hematogenous dissemination to certain tissues during sepsis in ROS-producing, wild-type mice but not ROS-deficient (Cybb−/−) mice. These results demonstrate the importance of protection that anticipates impending ROS-mediated immune attack. The ubiquity of quorum sensing suggests that it protects many bacterial species from oxidative damage.
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- Medicine
- Microbiology and Infectious Disease
Background:
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients experience immune compromise characterized by complex alterations of both innate and adaptive immunity, and results in higher susceptibility to infection and lower response to vaccination. This immune compromise, coupled with greater risk of exposure to infectious disease at hemodialysis (HD) centers, underscores the need for examination of the immune response to the COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines.
Methods:
The immune response to the COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine was assessed in 20 HD patients and cohort-matched controls. RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was performed longitudinally before and after each vaccination dose for a total of six time points per subject. Anti-spike antibody levels were quantified prior to the first vaccination dose (V1D0) and 7 d after the second dose (V2D7) using anti-spike IgG titers and antibody neutralization assays. Anti-spike IgG titers were additionally quantified 6 mo after initial vaccination. Clinical history and lab values in HD patients were obtained to identify predictors of vaccination response.
Results:
Transcriptomic analyses demonstrated differing time courses of immune responses, with prolonged myeloid cell activity in HD at 1 wk after the first vaccination dose. HD also demonstrated decreased metabolic activity and decreased antigen presentation compared to controls after the second vaccination dose. Anti-spike IgG titers and neutralizing function were substantially elevated in both controls and HD at V2D7, with a small but significant reduction in titers in HD groups (p<0.05). Anti-spike IgG remained elevated above baseline at 6 mo in both subject groups. Anti-spike IgG titers at V2D7 were highly predictive of 6-month titer levels. Transcriptomic biomarkers after the second vaccination dose and clinical biomarkers including ferritin levels were found to be predictive of antibody development.
Conclusions:
Overall, we demonstrate differing time courses of immune responses to the BTN162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in maintenance HD subjects comparable to healthy controls and identify transcriptomic and clinical predictors of anti-spike IgG titers in HD. Analyzing vaccination as an in vivo perturbation, our results warrant further characterization of the immune dysregulation of ESRD.
Funding:
F30HD102093, F30HL151182, T32HL144909, R01HL138628. This research has been funded by the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) award UL1TR002003.
