Targeting a Plasmodium propeller domain protein to prevent malaria liver stage infection – MALPROP

Plasmodium sporozoites, the mosquito-transmitted forms of the malaria parasite, first infect the liver for an initial and obligatory round of replication, before initiating the symptomatic blood stages. Infection of the liver is clinically silent and constitutes an ideal target for a malaria vaccine. Until now, only one single antigen (CSP) has been considered for vaccine development against the extracellular sporozoite stage, with limited success. Using proteomic, genetic and structural modeling approaches, we identified a sporozoite propeller domain protein as a novel promising target for neutralizing antibodies against parasite entry into liver cells. Here, we propose to evaluate this new target using innovative pre-clinical infection models and vaccine platforms based on protein nano-assemblies and recombinant measles virus. Validation of this new protective target may open new perspectives for clinical development of novel vaccine strategies to block malaria transmission.