Antigens and antibodies involved in humoral immunity to plasmodium falciparum

Malaria plasmodiidae cause more death and disease than any other known human pathogen. The parasite still threatens half of the world population {2.5 billion) and 300 million people are considered to become infected every year. More than 1 million African children annually die from malaria and there are an estimated 80 million clinical cases/year in the world. How protection or immunity to the parasites is mounted in humans is still partially unknown, although both cellular and antibody mediated immunity has been implied.

This thesis describes several aspects of the humoral immune response to Plasmodium falciparurn in humans. Sera from individuals with different degrees of exposure to the parasite or with clinical immunity were used to study antibodies to P. falciparum antigens by means of ELISA, indirect immunofluorescence, immunoprecipiation and immunoblotting. Antibodies of IgM and all four IgG isotypes were detected both in sera from immune donors and in those with their first infection. However, whereas high titered sera contained antibodies of IgM and IgG1-4 isotypes, IgG2 and IgG4 antibodies were frequently missing in low titered sera. This could indicate that the isotype expression, on the average, follows the downstreams order of the Igh-C genes and is correlated with the intensity of immunization as occurring in infection. Using the same methods for a detailed investigation of sera from children and adults living in a holoendemic area of Liberia, no (or weak) correlations between age-dependent acquisition of P.falciparum immunity and overall antibody activities or isotype expression were seen.

List of scientific papers

I. Wahlgren M, Berzins K, Perlmann P, Björkman A. Characterization of the humoral immune response in Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Estimation of antibodies to P. falciparum or human erythrocytes by means of microELISA. Clin Exp Immunol. 1983 Oct;54(1):127-34.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6352102

II. Wahlgren M, Berzins K, Perlmann P, Persson M. Characterization of the humoral immune response in Plasmodium falciparum malaria. II. IgG subclass levels of anti-P. falciparum antibodies in different sera. Clin Exp Immunol. 1983 Oct;54(1):135-42.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6352103

III. Perlmann H, Berzins K, Wahlgren M, Carlsson J, Björkman A, Patarroyo ME, Perlmann P. Antibodies in malarial sera to parasite antigens in the membrane of erythrocytes infected with early asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum. J Exp Med. 1984 Jun 1;159(6):1686-704.
https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.159.6.1686

IV. Wahlgren M, Perlmann H, Berzins K, Björkman A, Larsson A, Ljungström I, Patarroy ME, Perlmann P. Characterization of the humoral immune response in Plasmodium falciparum malaria. III. Factors influencing the coexpression of antibody isotypes (IgM and IgG-1 to 4). Clin Exp Immunol. 1986 Feb;63(2):343-53.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3516466

V. Wåhlin B, Wahlgren M, Perlmann H, Berzins K, Björkman A, Patarroyo ME, Perlmann P. Human antibodies to a Mr 155,000 Plasmodium falciparum antigen efficiently inhibit merozoite invasion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1984 Dec;81(24):7912-6.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.81.24.7912

VI. Wahlgren M, Björkman A, Perlmann H, Berzins K, Perlmann P. Anti-Plasmodium falciparum antibodies acquired by residents in a holoendemic area of Liberia during development of clinical immunity. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1986 Jan;35(1):22-9.
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1986.35.22

VII. Wahlgren M, Aslund L, Franzén L, Sundvall M, Wåhlin B, Berzins K, McNicol LA, Björkman A, Wigzell H, Perlmann P, et al. A Plasmodium falciparum antigen containing clusters of asparagine residues. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Apr;83(8):2677-81.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.83.8.2677

VIII. Wahlgren, M, Lundgren-Sjöberg, K, Wåhlin, B, Perlmann, H, Udomsangpetch, R, Berzins, K & Perlmann, P. Malaria infected erythrocytes from spontaneous rosettes with uninfected cells coated with antigens released by the parasite. [Submitted]