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Ferreira AR, Singh B, Cabrera-Mora M, Magri De Souza AC, Queiroz Marques MT, Porto LCS, Santos F, Banic DM, Calvo-Calle JM, Oliveira-Ferreira J, Moreno A, Da Costa Lima-Junior J. Evaluation of naturally acquired IgG antibodies to a chimeric and non-chimeric recombinant species of Plasmodium vivax reticulocyte binding protein-1: lack of association with HLA-DRB1*/DQB1* in malaria exposed individuals from the Brazilian Amazon. PLoS One 2014; 9:e105828. [PMID: 25148251 PMCID: PMC4141821 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of modular constructs that include antigenic regions targeted by protective immune responses is an attractive approach for subunit vaccine development. However, a main concern of using these vaccine platforms is how to preserve the antigenic identity of conformational B cell epitopes. In the present study we evaluated naturally acquired antibody responses to a chimeric protein engineered to contain a previously defined immunodominant domain of the Plasmodium vivax reticulocyte binding protein-1 located between amino acid positions K435-I777. The construct also includes three regions of the cognate protein (F571-D587, I1745-S1786 and L2235-E2263) predicted to contain MHC class II promiscuous T cell epitopes. Plasma samples from 253 naturally exposed individuals were tested against this chimeric protein named PvRMC-RBP1 and a control protein that includes the native sequence PvRBP123-751 in comparative experiments to study the frequency of total IgG and IgG subclass reactivity. HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 allelic groups were typed by PCR-SSO to evaluate the association between major HLA class II alleles and antibody responses. We found IgG antibodies that recognized the chimeric PvRMC-RBP1 and the PvRBP123-751 in 47.1% and 60% of the studied population, respectively. Moreover, the reactivity index against both proteins were comparable and associated with time of exposure (p<0.0001) and number of previous malaria episodes (p<0.005). IgG subclass profile showed a predominance of cytophilic IgG1 over other subclasses against both proteins tested. Collectively these studies suggest that the chimeric PvRMC-RBP1 protein retained antigenic determinants in the PvRBP1435–777 native sequence. Although 52.9% of the population did not present detectable titers of antibodies to PvRMC-RBP1, genetic restriction to this chimeric protein does not seem to occur, since no association was observed between the HLA-DRB1* or HLA-DQB1* alleles and the antibody responses. This experimental evidence strongly suggests that the identity of the conformational B cell epitopes is preserved in the chimeric protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Ribeiro Ferreira
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Balwan Singh
- Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Monica Cabrera-Mora
- Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Alana Cristina Magri De Souza
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | | | | | - Fatima Santos
- National Health Foundation, Department of Entomology, Central Laboratory, Porto Velho, RO, Brazil
| | - Dalma Maria Banic
- Laboratory for Simuliidae and Onchocerciasis, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - J. Mauricio Calvo-Calle
- Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Joseli Oliveira-Ferreira
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Alberto Moreno
- Emory Vaccine Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AM); (JCLJ)
| | - Josué Da Costa Lima-Junior
- Laboratory of Immunoparasitology, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, (FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
- * E-mail: (AM); (JCLJ)
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