Cytotoxic T cells specific for the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum Article

Kumar, S, Miller, LH, Quakyi, IA et al. (1988). Cytotoxic T cells specific for the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium falciparum . NATURE, 334(6179), 258-260. 10.1038/334258a0

cited authors

  • Kumar, S; Miller, LH; Quakyi, IA; Keister, DB; Houghten, RA; Maloy, WL; Moss, B; Berzofsky, JA; Good, MF

abstract

  • Malaria is initiated by the inoculation of a susceptible host with sporozoites from an infected mosquito. The sporozoites enter hepatocytes and develop for a period as exoerythrocyte or hepatic stage parasites1. Vaccination with irradiated sporozoites can provide protective immunity1 and a recent study2 shows that this can also be conferred by immunization with a recombinant salmonella expressing only the circumsporozoite protein that normally covers the sporozoites. Protection against infection is likely to be mediated by cytotoxic CD8+ cells, as depletion of CD8+ T cells in a sporozoite-immunized animal can completely abrogate immunity3,4. Here we demonstrate directly the existence of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that recognize the circumsporozoite protein. B10.BR mice immunized with sporozoites or with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing the CS protein of Plasmodium falciparum contain CTL that specifically kill L cell fibroblasts transfected with the gene encoding the same CS protein. The peptide epitope from the CS protein that is recognized by CTL from this strain of mice is from a variant region of the protein. © 1988 Nature Publishing Group.

publication date

  • January 1, 1988

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 258

end page

  • 260

volume

  • 334

issue

  • 6179