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Infection and Immunity, May 2003, p. 2508-2515, Vol. 71, No. 5
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.5.2508-2515.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Epitope-Specific Humoral Immunity to Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein

Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University,¹ Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio,² Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Madang, Papua New Guinea,³ International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India,⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana⁵

Received 30 September 2002/ Returned for modification 19 November 2002/ Accepted 10 February 2003

Erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium vivax is completely dependent on binding to the Duffy blood group antigen by the parasite Duffy binding protein (DBP). The receptor-binding domain of this protein lies within a cysteine-rich region referred to as region II (DBPII). To examine whether antibody responses to DBP correlate with age-acquired immunity to P. vivax, antibodies to recombinant DBP (rDBP) were measured in 551 individuals residing in a village endemic for P. vivax in Papua New Guinea, and linear epitopes mapped in the critical binding region of DBPII. Antibody levels to rDBP_II increased with age. Four dominant linear epitopes were identified, and the number of linear epitopes recognized by semiimmune individuals increased with age, suggesting greater recognition with repeated infection. Some individuals had antibodies to rDBP_II but not to the linear epitopes, indicating the presence of conformational epitopes. This occurred in younger individuals or subjects acutely infected for the first time with P. vivax, indicating that repeated infection is required for recognition of linear epitopes. All four dominant B-cell epitopes contained polymorphic residues, three of which showed variant-specific serologic responses in over 10% of subjects examined. In conclusion, these results demonstrate age-dependent and variant-specific antibody responses to DBPII and implicate this molecule in partial acquired immunity to P. vivax in populations in endemic areas.

Editor: S. H. E. Kaufmann

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