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Tajudeen YA, Oladipo HJ, Yusuff SI, Abimbola SO, Abdulkadir M, Oladunjoye IO, Omotosho AO, Egbewande OM, Shittu HD, Yusuf RO, Ogundipe O, Muili AO, Afolabi AO, Dahesh SMA, Gameil MAM, El-Sherbini MS. A landscape review of malaria vaccine candidates in the pipeline. Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 2024; 10:19. [PMID: 39085983 PMCID: PMC11293096 DOI: 10.1186/s40794-024-00222-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Globally, malaria continues to pose a major health challenge, with approximately 247 million cases of the illness and 627,000 deaths reported in 2021. However, the threat is particularly pronounced in sub-Saharan African countries, where pregnant women and children under the age of five face heightened vulnerability to the disease. As a result, the imperative to develop malaria vaccines especially for these vulnerable populations, remains crucial in the pursuit of malaria eradication. However, despite decades of research, effective vaccine development faces technical challenges, including the rapid spread of drug-resistant parasite strains, the complex parasite lifecycle, the development of liver hypnozoites with potential for relapse, and evasion of the host immune system. This review aims to discuss the different malaria vaccine candidates in the pipeline, highlighting different approaches used for adjuvating these candidates, their benefits, and outcomes, and summarizing the progress of these vaccine candidates under development. METHOD A comprehensive web-based search for peer-reviewed journal articles published in SCOPUS, MEDLINE (via PubMed), Science Direct, WHO, and Advanced Google Scholar databases was conducted from 1990 to May 2022. Context-specific keywords such as "Malaria", "Malaria Vaccine", "Malaria Vaccine Candidates", "Vaccine Development", "Vaccine Safety", "Clinical Trials", "mRNA Vaccines", "Viral Vector Vaccines", "Protein-based Vaccines", "Subunit Vaccines", "Vaccine Adjuvants", "Vaccine-induced Immune Responses", and "Immunogenicity" were emphatically considered. Articles not directly related to malaria vaccine candidates in preclinical and clinical stages of development were excluded. RESULTS Various approaches have been studied for malaria vaccine development, targeting different parasite lifecycle stages, including the pre-erythrocytic, erythrocytic, and sexual stages. The RTS, S/AS01 vaccine, the first human parasite vaccine reaching WHO-listed authority maturity level 4, has demonstrated efficacy in preventing clinical malaria in African children. However, progress was slow in introducing other safe, and feasible malaria vaccines through clinical trials . Recent studies highlight the potential effectiveness of combining pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage vaccines, along with the advantages of mRNA vaccines for prophylaxis and treatment, and nonstructural vaccines for large-scale production. CONCLUSION Malaria vaccine candidates targeting different lifecycle stages of the parasite range from chemoprophylaxis vaccination to cross-species immune protection. The use of a multi-antigen, multi-stage combinational vaccine is therefore essential in the context of global health. This demands careful understanding and critical consideration of the long-term multi-faceted interplay of immune interference, co-dominance, complementary immune response, molecular targets, and adjuvants affecting the overall vaccine-induced immune response. Despite challenges, advancements in clinical trials and vaccination technology offer promising possibilities for novel approaches in malaria vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuf Amuda Tajudeen
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, 240003, Nigeria
- Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, P.M.B 5017 G.P.O, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - Habeebullah Jayeola Oladipo
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, 240003, Nigeria
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, 240003, Nigeria
| | - Sodiq Inaolaji Yusuff
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ibadan- Ife Rd, Ife, 220282, Osun State, Nigeria
| | - Samuel O Abimbola
- Cyprus International Institute of Environmental and Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, 3036, Cyprus
| | - Muritala Abdulkadir
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, 240003, Nigeria
| | - Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, 240003, Nigeria
| | - Abass Olawale Omotosho
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Kwara State University, P.M.B 1530, Malete-Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
| | | | | | - Rashidat Onyinoyi Yusuf
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, 240003, Nigeria
| | - Oluwatosin Ogundipe
- Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, P.M.B 5017 G.P.O, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - Abdulbasit Opeyemi Muili
- Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, P.M.B 4000, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Nigeria
| | - Abdullateef Opeyemi Afolabi
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kampala International University, Bushenyi, Uganda.
| | - Salwa M A Dahesh
- Research Institute of Medical Entomology, General Organization for Teaching Hospitals and Institutes, GOTHI, Damietta, Egypt
| | | | - Mona Said El-Sherbini
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt
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Maciver SK, Abdelnasir S, Anwar A, Siddiqui R, Khan NA. Modular nanotheranostic agents for protistan parasitic diseases: Magic bullets with tracers. Mol Biochem Parasitol 2023; 253:111541. [PMID: 36603708 DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2022.111541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Protistan parasitic infections contribute significantly to morbidity and mortality, causing more than 2 billion human infections annually. However, current treatments are often limited; due to ineffective drugs and drug resistance, thus better options are urgently required. In the present context, theranostics agents are those that offer simultaneous detection, diagnosis and even treatment of protistan parasitic diseases. "Nanotheranostics" is the term used to describe such agents, that are around 100 nm or less in size. Anti-parasitic activity of nanoparticles (NPs) has been reported, and many have useful intrinsic imaging properties, but it is perhaps their multifunctional nature that offers the greatest potential. NPs may be used as adapters onto which various subunits with different functions may be attached. These subunits may facilitate targeting parasites, coupled with toxins to eradicate parasites, and probe subunits for detection of particles and/or parasites. The modular nature of nano-platforms promises a "mix and match" approach for the construction of tailored agents by using combinations of these subunits against different protistan parasites. Even though many of the subunits have shown promise alone, these have not yet been put together convincingly enough to form working theranostics against protistan parasites. Although the clinical application of nanotheranostics to protistan parasitic infections in humans requires more research, we conclude that they offer not just a realisation of Paul Ehrlich's long imagined "magic bullet" concept, but potentially are magic bullets combined with tracer bullets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sutherland Kester Maciver
- Centre for Discovery Brain Science, Edinburgh Medical School, Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Sumayah Abdelnasir
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Ayaz Anwar
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
- College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Istinye University, Istanbul 34010, Turkey
| | - Naveed Ahmed Khan
- Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Istinye University, Istanbul 34010, Turkey; Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
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