Keen, Jane K.;
(1990)
Malaria antigens involved in protective immunity.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The rodent malaria Plasmodium yoelii is used as a laboratory model for human malaria. The invasion of erythrocytes by Plasmodium merozoites is thought to be mediated by rhoptries; the mechanism of invasion is unknown. A monoclonal antibody recognising a 235kD P.yoelii rhoptry antigen was isolated by Freeman et al. The monoclonal antibody, which was protective on passive transfer appeared to alter the specificity of the parasite causing preferential invasion of reticulocytes followed by clearance of infection. The first section of the thesis describes the isolation of a P.yoelii DNA fragment thought to code for a blood stage merozoite rhoptry antigen. Antisera raised against a fusion protein and a synthetic peptide appear to recognise rhoptries by indirect immunofluorescence. Antibodies selected from P.yoelii immune serum immunoprecipitate a blood stage protein of 235kD and recognise a similar sized protein on Western blots. Sequence data, Southern blots and PCR amplification suggest that cloned DNA fragments may be present as more than one copy in the P.yoelii genome. Cross species hybridisation shows the gene sequence to be present in other rodent Plasmodia. The second section of the thesis covers experiments attempting to identify the components of isoelectrically focussed P.yoelii fractions. De Souza and Playfair have shown that certain fractions can protect mice against challenge infection as effectively as a total parasite lysate. Antibodies to focussed fractions were used to immunoprecipitate labelled P.yoelii proteins and in immunofluorescence studies. Antibody depletion experiments were carried out on focussed fractions to try to identify protective components.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Malaria antigens involved in protective immunity |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Thesis digitised by ProQuest. |
| Keywords: | Health and environmental sciences; Malaria |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10114459 |
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