Identifying Antibody Responses Associated with Protection from Severe Malaria in Children

Abstract

Malaria is a major global public health burden that affects individuals in 87 countries and causes 600,000 deaths annually. The majority of cases of severe malaria and malaria related deaths occur in children under the age of five, who lack protective immunity that is acquired by adulthood in endemic regions. Antibodies are a key component of protective immunity, however, the target antigens of antibodies and the functions of antibodies that confer protection are unclear. Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) expressed on the surface of parasite infected erythrocytes is a highly variant, multi-domain protein that mediates adhesion to a range of vascular endothelial ce..