Malaria: a genetically attenuated parasite induces an effective, long-lasting immune response

With nearly 3.2 billion people currently at risk of contracting malaria, scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS and Inserm have experimentally developed a live, genetically attenuated vaccine for Plasmodium, the parasite responsible for the disease. By identifying and deleting one of the parasite's genes, the scientists enabled it to induce an effective, long-lasting immune response in a mouse model. These findings were published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine on July 18, 2016.

Despite increased prevention and eradication efforts over the past fifteen years, especially targeting mosquito vectors, malaria remains the parasitic disease that poses the biggest threat for the world's population. Approximately 214 million cases and 438,000 deaths from malaria were recorded in 2015, mostly children under the age of five and pregnant women. An effective vaccine is needed to combat this disease, but the complex biological make-up of Plasmodium and the many strategies the parasite has evolved to outmaneuver the host immune response mean that developing a malaria vaccine is a difficult task. One notable feature of patients infected by the malaria parasite is the difficulty in mounting a long-lasting protective immune response. Premunition, or relative immunity, is only acquired after several years of exposure. An important feature during malaria infection is that the parasite prevents the establishment of immunological memory.

To find out more, read the press release