Download MendeleyRepertoire, function, and structure of serological antibodies induced by the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine.
McDaniel, J.R., Voss, W.N., Bowyer, G., Rush, S.A., Spencer, A.J., Bellamy, D., Ulaszewska, M., Goike, J., Gregory, S., King, C.R., McLellan, J.S., Hill, A.V.S., Georgiou, G., Ewer, K.J., Ippolito, G.C.(2025) J Exp Medicine 222
- PubMed: 40719751 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20241908
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
9CR9 - PubMed Abstract:
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended the programmatic use of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine for Plasmodium falciparum malaria prevention in children living in malaria-endemic areas. To determine its effects on humoral immunity, we conducted a proteomic analysis of polyclonal IgG antibodies directed against the NANP tetrapeptide of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), which comprises the vaccine's core immunogen. In 10 malaria-naïve adult volunteers, R21/Matrix-M induced polarized IgG anti-NANP repertoires, heavily skewed for IGHV3-30/3-33 genes bearing minimal somatic mutation, which remained static in composition following a controlled human malaria infection challenge. Notably, these vaccine-generated antibodies cross-reacted with another protective CSP epitope, the N-terminal junction region, despite its absence from the R21 construct. NANP-specific IGHV3-30/3-33 mAbs mined from polyclonal IgG repertoires blocked sporozoite invasion in vitro and prevented parasitemia in vivo. Overall, R21/Matrix-M elicits polarized, minimally mutated, polyclonal IgG responses that can target multiple protective CSP epitopes, offering molecular insight into the serological basis for its demonstrated efficacy against P. falciparum malaria.
- The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA.
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