To fight malaria, quantity could improve the quality of a vaccine. Researchers have identified antibodies that effectively fight infection.
Multiplying the targets to eradicate the parasite responsible for malaria: this is what researchers at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) are proposing. According to their study published in Science Translational Medicine, they were able to identify antibodies that provide protection against Plasmodium falciparum.
5 proteins totally protect
The KEMRI team followed for 6 months young Kenyans infected with malaria. Some did get sick, but the rest never got to the “clinical stage”, meaning they didn’t show symptoms. And for good reason: the children’s blood tests showed that they had developed very effective antibodies, which prevented the Plasmodium to enter hemoglobin cells.
By testing a wide range of proteins from the Anopheles-transmitted parasite, the researchers identified antibodies whose role was previously unknown. A combination of 5 of them even gives 100% protection against Plasmodium falciparum. A real breakthrough, according to Dr Julian Rayner, who took part in the study: “In the past, clinical trials of malaria vaccines focused on a single target and had limited success. With this approach, you can systematically test a larger number of targets, as well as combinations of targets. “
600,000 deaths each year
The conclusions of the study are also unequivocal: the data collected “suggest not only that there are many more potential candidate antigens for a vaccine against malaria, but also that an effective vaccine can be obtained by combining a selection of these antigens. A solid hope that comes at a critical time: Drug-resistant malaria is spreading more and more in sub-Saharan Africa, and now in Asia. And each year, the parasitic disease kills more than 600,000, most of them children who live in sub-Saharan Africa. “There is a desperate need for vaccines to fight the Plasmodium falciparum before he has the opportunity to make people sick, ”insists Dr. Faith Osier, the study’s lead author. “This study provides us with a large number of new vaccine candidates, which offers real hope for the future. “
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