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Hayashi CTH, Cao Y, Zavala F, Simonyan H, Young CN, Kumar N. Antibodies elicited by Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite proteins lacking sequentially deleted C-terminal amino acids reveal mouse strain and epitopes specific differences. Vaccine 2023; 41:6824-6833. [PMID: 37827967 PMCID: PMC11004087 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
Malaria affects ∼ ¼ billion people globally and requires the development of additional tools to aid in elimination efforts. The recently approved RTS,S/AS01 vaccine represents a positive step, however, the moderate efficacy necessitates the development of more efficacious vaccines. PfCSP is a key target antigen for pre-erythrocytic vaccines aimed at preventing Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections. Epitopes within the central repeat region and at the junction of the repeat and N-terminal domain are well documented as major protective B cell epitopes. On the other hand, a majority of antibodies against the epitopes in the C-terminal domain, have been shown to be non-protective against sporozoite challenge. The C-terminal domain, however, contains CD4+ and CD8+ T cell epitopes previously shown to be important for regulating immune responses. The present study was designed to further explore the immunomodulatory potential of the C-terminal domain using DNA vaccines encoding PfCSP with sequential C-terminal truncations following known T cell epitopes. Five DNA vaccines encoding different truncations of PfCSP within the C-terminal domain were administered via intramuscular route and in vivo electroporation for effective immunogenicity. Protection in mice was evaluated by challenge with transgenic P. berghei expressing PfCSP. In Balb/c mice, antibody responses and protective efficacy were both affected progressively with sequential deletion of C-terminal amino acid residues. Similar studies in C57Bl/6 mice revealed that immunizations with plasmids encoding truncated PfCSP showed partial protection from sporozoite challenge with no significant differences in antibody titers observed compared to full-length PfCSP DNA immunized mice. Further analysis revealed murine strain-specific differences in the recognition of specific epitopes.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Protozoan Proteins/immunology
- Protozoan Proteins/genetics
- Malaria Vaccines/immunology
- Malaria Vaccines/administration & dosage
- Malaria Vaccines/genetics
- Mice
- Plasmodium falciparum/immunology
- Plasmodium falciparum/genetics
- Antibodies, Protozoan/immunology
- Vaccines, DNA/immunology
- Vaccines, DNA/genetics
- Vaccines, DNA/administration & dosage
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/genetics
- Malaria, Falciparum/prevention & control
- Malaria, Falciparum/immunology
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Female
- Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte/genetics
- Epitopes/immunology
- Epitopes/genetics
- Sporozoites/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Clifford T H Hayashi
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington DC 20052, USA
| | - Yi Cao
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington DC 20052, USA
| | - Fidel Zavala
- Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21215, USA
| | - Hayk Simonyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington DC 20052, USA
| | - Colin N Young
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington DC 20052, USA
| | - Nirbhay Kumar
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington DC 20052, USA.
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Nakamae S, Miyagawa S, Ogawa K, Kamiya M, Taniguchi M, Ono A, Kawaguchi M, Teklemichael AA, Jian JY, Araki T, Katagami Y, Mukai H, Annoura T, Yui K, Hirayama K, Kawakami S, Mizukami S. Induction of liver-resident memory T cells and protection at liver-stage malaria by mRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1116299. [PMID: 37680630 PMCID: PMC10482405 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1116299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have suggested that CD8+ liver-resident memory T (TRM) cells are crucial in the protection against liver-stage malaria. We used liver-directed mRNA-containing lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNPs) to induce liver TRM cells in a murine model. Single-dose intravenous injections of ovalbumin mRNA-LNPs effectively induced antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner in the liver on day 7. TRM cells (CD8+ CD44hi CD62Llo CD69+ KLRG1-) were induced 5 weeks after immunization. To examine the protective efficacy, mice were intramuscularly immunized with two doses of circumsporozoite protein mRNA-LNPs at 3-week intervals and challenged with sporozoites of Plasmodium berghei ANKA. Sterile immunity was observed in some of the mice, and the other mice showed a delay in blood-stage development when compared with the control mice. mRNA-LNPs therefore induce memory CD8+ T cells that can protect against sporozoites during liver-stage malaria and may provide a basis for vaccines against the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayuri Nakamae
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Satoshi Miyagawa
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
- Laboratory for Drug Discovery and Disease Research, SHIONOGI & CO., LTD., Osaka, Japan
| | - Koki Ogawa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Mariko Kamiya
- Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Mayumi Taniguchi
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Akari Ono
- Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Maho Kawaguchi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Awet Alem Teklemichael
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Jiun-Yu Jian
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Tamasa Araki
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yukimi Katagami
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Hidefumi Mukai
- Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Takeshi Annoura
- Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Katsuyuki Yui
- Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Kenji Hirayama
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Shigeru Kawakami
- Department of Pharmaceutical Informatics, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Shusaku Mizukami
- Department of Immune Regulation, Shionogi Global Infectious Diseases Division, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
- School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan
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3
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Tursi NJ, Reeder SM, Flores-Garcia Y, Bah MA, Mathis-Torres S, Salgado-Jimenez B, Esquivel R, Xu Z, Chu JD, Humeau L, Patel A, Zavala F, Weiner DB. Engineered DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies targeting Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein confer single dose protection in a murine malaria challenge model. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14313. [PMID: 35995959 PMCID: PMC9395511 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18375-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel approaches for malaria prophylaxis remain important. Synthetic DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) are a promising approach to generate rapid, direct in vivo host-generated mAbs with potential benefits in production simplicity and distribution coupled with genetic engineering. Here, we explore this approach in a malaria challenge model. We engineered germline-reverted DMAbs based on human mAb clones CIS43, 317, and L9 which target a junctional epitope, major repeat, and minor repeat of the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP) respectively. DMAb variants were encoded into a plasmid vector backbone and their expression and binding profiles were characterized. We demonstrate long-term serological expression of DMAb constructs resulting in in vivo efficacy of CIS43 GL and 317 GL in a rigorous mosquito bite mouse challenge model. Additionally, we engineered an Fc modified variant of CIS43 and L9-based DMAbs to ablate binding to C1q to test the impact of complement-dependent Fc function on challenge outcomes. Complement knockout variant DMAbs demonstrated similar protection to that of WT Fc DMAbs supporting the notion that direct binding to the parasite is sufficient for the protection observed. Further investigation of DMAbs for malaria prophylaxis appears of importance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Tursi
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Sophia M Reeder
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Yevel Flores-Garcia
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Mamadou A Bah
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Shamika Mathis-Torres
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Berenice Salgado-Jimenez
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Rianne Esquivel
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Ziyang Xu
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Jacqueline D Chu
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Laurent Humeau
- Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Plymouth Meeting, PA, 19462, USA
| | - Ami Patel
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Fidel Zavala
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - David B Weiner
- Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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Cao Y, Hayashi CTH, Zavala F, Tripathi AK, Simonyan H, Young CN, Clark LC, Usuda Y, Van Parys JM, Kumar N. Effective Functional Immunogenicity of a DNA Vaccine Combination Delivered via In Vivo Electroporation Targeting Malaria Infection and Transmission. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:1134. [PMID: 35891298 PMCID: PMC9323668 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10071134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) and Pfs25 are leading candidates for the development of pre-erythrocytic and transmission-blocking vaccines (TBV), respectively. Although considerable progress has been made in developing PfCSP- and Pfs25-based vaccines, neither have elicited complete protection or transmission blocking in clinical trials. The combination of antigens targeting various life stages is an alternative strategy to develop a more efficacious malaria vaccine. In this study, female and male mice were immunized with DNA plasmids encoding PfCSP and Pfs25, administered alone or in combination via intramuscular in vivo electroporation (EP). Antigen-specific antibodies were analyzed for antibody titers, avidity and isotype by ELISA. Immune protection against sporozoite challenge, using transgenic P. berghei expressing PfCSP and a GFP-luciferase fusion protein (PbPfCSP-GFP/Luc), was assessed by in vivo bioluminescence imaging and blood-stage parasite growth. Transmission reducing activity (TRA) was evaluated in standard membrane feeding assays (SMFA). High levels of PfCSP- and Pfs25-specific antibodies were induced in mice immunized with either DNA vaccine alone or in combination. No difference in antibody titer and avidity was observed for both PfCSP and Pfs25 between the single DNA and combined DNA immunization groups. When challenged by PbPfCSP-GFP/Luc sporozoites, mice immunized with PfCSP alone or combined with Pfs25 revealed significantly reduced liver-stage parasite loads as compared to mice immunized with Pfs25, used as a control. Furthermore, parasite liver loads were negatively correlated with PfCSP-specific antibody levels. When evaluating TRA, we found that immunization with Pfs25 alone or in combination with PfCSP elicited comparable significant transmission reduction. Our studies reveal that the combination of PfCSP and Pfs25 DNAs into a vaccine delivered by in vivo EP in mice does not compromise immunogenicity, infection protection and transmission reduction when compared to each DNA vaccine individually, and provide support for further evaluation of this DNA combination vaccine approach in larger animals and clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Cao
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (Y.C.); (C.T.H.H.); (L.C.C.); (Y.U.); (J.M.V.P.)
| | - Clifford T. H. Hayashi
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (Y.C.); (C.T.H.H.); (L.C.C.); (Y.U.); (J.M.V.P.)
| | - Fidel Zavala
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (F.Z.); (A.K.T.)
| | - Abhai K. Tripathi
- Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (F.Z.); (A.K.T.)
| | - Hayk Simonyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (H.S.); (C.N.Y.)
| | - Colin N. Young
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (H.S.); (C.N.Y.)
| | - Leor C. Clark
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (Y.C.); (C.T.H.H.); (L.C.C.); (Y.U.); (J.M.V.P.)
| | - Yukari Usuda
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (Y.C.); (C.T.H.H.); (L.C.C.); (Y.U.); (J.M.V.P.)
| | - Jacob M. Van Parys
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (Y.C.); (C.T.H.H.); (L.C.C.); (Y.U.); (J.M.V.P.)
| | - Nirbhay Kumar
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA; (Y.C.); (C.T.H.H.); (L.C.C.); (Y.U.); (J.M.V.P.)
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