Identification and validation of a novel panel of < i > Plasmodium knowlesi < /i > biomarkers of serological exposure

by Lou S. Herman, Kimberly Fornace, Jody Phelan, Matthew J. Grigg, Nicholas M. Anstey, Timothy William, Robert W. Moon, Michael J. Blackman, Chris J. Drakeley, Kevin K. A. Tetteh BackgroundPlasmodium knowlesi is the most common cause of malaria in Malaysian Borneo, with reporting limited to clinical cases presenting to health facilities and scarce data on the true extent of transmission. Serological estimations of transmission have been used with other malaria species to garner information about epidemiological patterns. However, there are a distinct lack of suitable serosurveillance tools for this neglected disease. Methodology/Principal findingsUsingin silico tools, we designed and expressed four novelP.knowlesi protein products to address the distinct lack of suitable serosurveillance tools:PkSERA3 antigens 1 and 2,PkSSP2/TRAP andPkTSERA2 antigen 1. Antibody prevalence to these antigens was determined by ELISA for three time-points post-treatment from a hospital-based clinical treatment trial in Sabah, East Malaysia (n = 97 individuals; 241 total samples for all time points). Higher responses were observed for thePkSERA3 antigen 2 (67%, 65/97) across all time-points (day 0: 36.9% 34/92; day 7: 63.8% 46/72; day 28: 58.4% 45/77) with significant differences between the clinical cases and controls (n = 55, mean plus 3 SD) (day 0 p
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research