Journal article

Efficient Measurement of Opsonising Antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites

DL Hill, EM Eriksson, AB Carmagnac, DW Wilson, AF Cowman, DS Hansen, L Schofield

Plos One | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2012

Abstract

Background: Antibodies targeting merozoites are important in protection from malaria. Therefore, merozoite surface proteins are attractive vaccine candidates. There is a need for robust functional assays to investigate mechanisms of acquired immunity and vaccine efficacy. To date, the study of merozoite phagocytosis has been confounded by the complexity and variability of in vitro assays. Methodology/Principal findings: We have developed a new flow cytometry-based merozoite phagocytosis assay. An optimized merozoite preparation technique produced high yields of merozoites separated from haemozoin. Phagocytosis by the undifferentiated THP-1 monocytic cell line was mediated only by Fc Receptor..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases


Funding Acknowledgements

This work was made possible through Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and Australian Government NHMRC IRIISS. This work was supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council grant 1031212 and United States National Institutes of Health AI089686. AFC and LS are fellows of the NHMRC. DWW is supported by a Peter Doherty Australian Biomedical Fellowship from the NHMRC (APP1035715). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.