Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels.
Malaria represents a major public health problem in Africa. In the East African highlands, the high-altitude areas were previously considered too cold to support vector population and parasite transmission, rendering the region particularly prone to epidemic malaria due to the lack of protective imm...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2013-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846730?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1811267235691364352 |
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| author | Elisabeth Baum Kingsley Badu Douglas M Molina Xiaowu Liang Philip L Felgner Guiyun Yan |
| author_facet | Elisabeth Baum Kingsley Badu Douglas M Molina Xiaowu Liang Philip L Felgner Guiyun Yan |
| author_sort | Elisabeth Baum |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Malaria represents a major public health problem in Africa. In the East African highlands, the high-altitude areas were previously considered too cold to support vector population and parasite transmission, rendering the region particularly prone to epidemic malaria due to the lack of protective immunity of the population. Since the 1980's, frequent malaria epidemics have been reported and these successive outbreaks may have generated some immunity against Plasmodium falciparum amongst the highland residents. Serological studies reveal indirect evidence of human exposure to the parasite, and can reliably assess prevalence of exposure and transmission intensity in an endemic area. However, the vast majority of serological studies of malaria have been, hereto, limited to a small number of the parasite's antigens. We surveyed and compared the antibody response profiles of age-stratified sera from residents of two endemic areas in the western Kenyan highlands with differing malaria transmission intensities, during two distinct seasons, against 854 polypeptides of P. falciparum using high-throughput proteomic microarray technology. We identified 107 proteins as serum antibody targets, which were then characterized for their gene ontology biological process and cellular component of the parasite, and showed significant enrichment for categories related to immune evasion, pathogenesis and expression on the host's cell and parasite's surface. Additionally, we calculated age-fitted annual seroconversion rates for the immunogenic proteins, and contrasted the age-dependent antibody acquisition for those antigens between the two sampling sites. We observed highly immunogenic antigens that produce stable antibody responses from early age in both sites, as well as less immunogenic proteins that require repeated exposure for stable responses to develop and produce different seroconversion rates between sites. We propose that a combination of highly and less immunogenic proteins could be used in serological surveys to detect differences in malaria transmission levels, distinguishing sites of unstable and stable transmission. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:58:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-17c0cc2b74b74009b1b2f39b03f26efc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:58:48Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-17c0cc2b74b74009b1b2f39b03f26efc2022-12-22T03:16:53ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01812e8224610.1371/journal.pone.0082246Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels.Elisabeth BaumKingsley BaduDouglas M MolinaXiaowu LiangPhilip L FelgnerGuiyun YanMalaria represents a major public health problem in Africa. In the East African highlands, the high-altitude areas were previously considered too cold to support vector population and parasite transmission, rendering the region particularly prone to epidemic malaria due to the lack of protective immunity of the population. Since the 1980's, frequent malaria epidemics have been reported and these successive outbreaks may have generated some immunity against Plasmodium falciparum amongst the highland residents. Serological studies reveal indirect evidence of human exposure to the parasite, and can reliably assess prevalence of exposure and transmission intensity in an endemic area. However, the vast majority of serological studies of malaria have been, hereto, limited to a small number of the parasite's antigens. We surveyed and compared the antibody response profiles of age-stratified sera from residents of two endemic areas in the western Kenyan highlands with differing malaria transmission intensities, during two distinct seasons, against 854 polypeptides of P. falciparum using high-throughput proteomic microarray technology. We identified 107 proteins as serum antibody targets, which were then characterized for their gene ontology biological process and cellular component of the parasite, and showed significant enrichment for categories related to immune evasion, pathogenesis and expression on the host's cell and parasite's surface. Additionally, we calculated age-fitted annual seroconversion rates for the immunogenic proteins, and contrasted the age-dependent antibody acquisition for those antigens between the two sampling sites. We observed highly immunogenic antigens that produce stable antibody responses from early age in both sites, as well as less immunogenic proteins that require repeated exposure for stable responses to develop and produce different seroconversion rates between sites. We propose that a combination of highly and less immunogenic proteins could be used in serological surveys to detect differences in malaria transmission levels, distinguishing sites of unstable and stable transmission.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846730?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Elisabeth Baum Kingsley Badu Douglas M Molina Xiaowu Liang Philip L Felgner Guiyun Yan Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels. PLoS ONE |
| title | Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels. |
| title_full | Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels. |
| title_fullStr | Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels. |
| title_short | Protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum in western Kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels. |
| title_sort | protein microarray analysis of antibody responses to plasmodium falciparum in western kenyan highland sites with differing transmission levels |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3846730?pdf=render |
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