| First Author | Oliveira GA | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | Infect Immun | Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 1200-6 |
| PubMed ID | 18160479 | Mgi Jnum | J:131605 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3774055 | Doi | 10.1128/IAI.00566-07 |
| Citation | Oliveira GA, et al. (2008) Class II-restricted protective immunity induced by malaria sporozoites. Infect Immun 76(3):1200-6 |
| abstractText | The irradiated-sporozoite vaccine elicits sterile immunity against Plasmodium parasites in experimental rodent hosts and human volunteers. Based on rodent malaria models, it has been proposed that CD8+ T cells are the key protective effector mechanism required in sporozoite-induced immunity. To investigate the role of class II-restricted immunity in protective immunity, we immunized beta2-microglobulin knockout (beta2M-/-) mice with irradiated Plasmodium yoelii or P. berghei sporozoites. Sterile immunity was obtained in the CD8+-T-cell-deficient mice immunized with either P. berghei or P. yoelii sporozoites. beta2M-/- mice with the BALB/c (H-2d) genetic background as well as those with the C57BL (H-2b) genetic background were protected. Effector mechanisms included CD4+ T cells, mediated in part through the production of gamma interferon, and neutralizing antibodies that targeted the extracellular sporozoites. We conclude that in the absence of class I-restricted CD8+ T cells, sporozoite-induced protective immunity can be effectively mediated by class II-restricted immune effector mechanisms. These results support efforts to develop subunit vaccines that effectively elicit high levels of antibody and CD4+ T cells to target Plasmodium pre-erythrocytic stages. |
