Trends in Parasitology
Volume 36, Issue 11, November 2020, Pages 880-883
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Antibody Therapy Goes to Insects: Monoclonal Antibodies Can Block Plasmodium Transmission to Mosquitoes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2020.08.009Get rights and content

Malaria eradication is a global priority but requires innovative strategies. Humoral immune responses attack different parasite stages, and antibody-based therapy may prevent malaria infection or transmission. Here, we discuss targets of monoclonal antibodies in mosquito sexual stages of Plasmodium.

Section snippets

Antibodies Can Be Allies in the Fight against Malaria Transmission

Recent progress in malaria control has stalled, highlighting the need for new approaches and strategies to control and eliminate this disease. The antibody response to malaria has been extensively characterized [1], and potent neutralizing antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum can be important complementary tools to prevent and treat infection. The P. falciparum genome encodes over 5000 known or hypothetical proteins; those targeted by antibodies are often highly polymorphic, and

Pfs48/45

The GPI-anchored protein Pfs48/45 forms a complex with peripheral membrane protein Pfs230 on the surface of gametes and is essential for male fertility. Antibodies against Pfs48/45 prevent ookinete formation and are complement-independent. While Pfs48/45-specific polyclonal antibodies from human subjects have been shown to block transmission in a standard membrane feeding assay (SMFA) [4], no human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against Pfs48/45 have been reported. Rat mAb 85RF45.1 targets a

Perspectives on Delivery of mAbs Targeting Sexual-stage Parasite Antigens

The idea of therapeutic antibodies is not new to the malaria field. Seminal studies showed that intraperitoneal administration of sera from animals with chronic infection can reduce both parasite burden and clinical symptoms in infected Rhesus monkeys [12]. Further, passive transfer of IgG purified from semi-immune African adults cleared parasitemia in children with malaria [13]. Antibody-based therapy for malaria is being revisited in the era of recombinant antibodies, and now includes

Author Contributions

C.H.C. and P.E.D. conceptualized the work. All authors wrote and revised the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

C.H.C., G.E.C., C.B.M., and P.E.D. are supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. T.B. and M.M.J. are supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Vidi fellowship NWO project numbers 016.158.306 and 192.061). J. Patrick Gorres edited the manuscript. G.E.C. is thankful to Adeline E. Williams for the revision in the Pfs47 section.

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