Malaria

Malaria in pregnancy is responsible for 10,000 maternal deaths and 100,000 still births every year. Pregnant women, despite lifetime malaria exposure, are more susceptible to Plasmodium falciparum infections than their non-pregnant counterparts, due to the ability of parasites to sequester in the placenta by expressing VAR2CSA, a pregnancy-associated P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein-1 variant surface antigen. Recent clinical studies have shown an association between the presence of naturally-acquired antibodies to VAR2CSA and protection from placental malaria. 

We are investigating the antibody response to VAR2CSA, exploring the functional and structural properties of these Abs in order to identify the mechanisms behind protection, which could provide vital information to guide the rational development of future Ab-based vaccines.

Distribution of antibody features in women with non-placental infection (NPI) and placental malaria (PM).

(A–F) Levels of each of the selected antibody features in individual women in the two groups (G) No single antibody feature was present in all individuals with NPI (or was absent in all those with PM). Errors bars are mean (SD), p-values derived from Welch’s t-test. IE: infected erythrocyte

Aitken et al . Developing a multivariate prediction model of antibody features associated with protection of malaria-infected pregnant women from placental malaria. Elife. 2021 June 29.