Abstract |
The immune response against the variant surface Ag Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is a key component of clinical immunity against malaria. We have investigated the development and maintenance of CD4(+) T cell responses to a small semiconserved area of the Duffy binding-like domain (DBL)α-domain of PfEMP1, the DBLα-tag. Young children were followed up longitudinally, and parasites and PBMCs were isolated from 35 patients presenting with an acute case of uncomplicated malaria. The DBLα-tag from the PfEMP1 dominantly expressed by the homologous parasite isolate was cloned and expressed as recombinant protein. The recombinant DBLα-tag was used to activate PBMCs collected from each acute episode and from an annual cross-sectional survey performed after the acute malaria episode. In this article, we report that CD4(+) T cell responses to the homologous DBLα-tag were induced in 75% of the children at the time of the acute episode and in 62% of the children at the following cross-sectional survey on average 235 d later. Furthermore, children who had induced DBLα-tag-specific CD4(+)IL-4(+) T cells at the acute episode remained episode free for longer than children who induced other types of CD4(+) T cell responses. These results suggest that a wide range of DBLα-tag-specific CD4(+) T cell responses were induced in children with mild malaria and, in the case of CD4(+)IL-4(+) T cell responses, were associated with protection from clinical episodes.
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Authors | Evelyn N Gitau, James Tuju, Henry Karanja, Liz Stevenson, Pilar Requena, Eva Kimani, Ally Olotu, Domtila Kimani, Kevin Marsh, Peter Bull, Britta C Urban |
Journal | Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
(J Immunol)
Vol. 192
Issue 4
Pg. 1753-61
(Feb 15 2014)
ISSN: 1550-6606 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 24453249
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
- Antibodies, Protozoan
- Antigens, Protozoan
- IL4 protein, human
- Protozoan Proteins
- erythrocyte membrane protein 1, Plasmodium falciparum
- Interleukin-4
- Interferon-gamma
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Topics |
- Antibodies, Protozoan
(immunology)
- Antigens, Protozoan
(immunology)
- CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes
(immunology)
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Cohort Studies
- Erythrocytes
(immunology, parasitology)
- Female
- Humans
- Interferon-gamma
(metabolism)
- Interleukin-4
(metabolism)
- Kenya
- Malaria, Falciparum
(immunology)
- Male
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Plasmodium falciparum
(immunology)
- Protein Structure, Tertiary
- Protozoan Proteins
(immunology)
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