Progress in the Development of Subunit Vaccines against Malaria.

Abstract

Malaria is a life-threatening disease and one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the human population. The disease also results in a major socio-economic burden. The rapid spread of malaria epidemics in developing countries is exacerbated by the rise in drug-resistant parasites and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes. At present, malaria research is focused mainly on the development of drugs with increased therapeutic effects against Plasmodium parasites. However, a vaccine against the disease is preferable over treatment to achieve long-term control. Trials to develop a safe and effective immunization protocol for the control of malaria have been occurring for decades, and continue on today; still, no effective vaccines are available on the market. Recently, peptide-based vaccines have become an attractive alternative approach. These vaccines utilize short protein fragments to induce immune responses against malaria parasites. Peptide-based vaccines are safer than traditional vaccines, relatively inexpensive to produce, and can be composed of multiple T- and B-cell epitopes integrated into one antigenic formulation. Various combinations, based on antigen choice, peptide epitope modification and delivery mechanism, have resulted in numerous potential malaria vaccines candidates; these are presently being studied in both preclinical and clinical trials. This review describes the current landscape of peptide-based vaccines, and addresses obstacles and opportunities in the production of malaria vaccines.

• Authors: Mariusz Skwarczynski, Saranya Chandrudu, Berta Rigau-Planella, Md Tanjir Islam, Yee S Cheong, Genan Liu, Xiumin Wang, Istvan Toth, Waleed M Hussein
• Journal: Vaccines (Vaccines (Basel)) Vol. 8 Issue 3 (Jul 10 2020) ISSN: 2076-393X [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 32664421 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)