The use of mRNA-based technology platform as a strategy for the development of a multi-antigen/multi-stage vaccine formulation against Plasmodium vivax

• Grant number: 22/15895-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Youssef Bargieri
• Grantee: Rodolfo Ferreira Marques
• Supervisor: Norbert Pardi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Pennsylvania, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/04455-9 - The use of mRNA-based technology platform as a strategy on development of a multi-antigen/multi-stage vaccine formulation against Plasmodium vivax, BP.PD

Abstract

Plasmodium vivax is the most common parasite species that causes human malaria outside Africa. This species is also the most endemic in Asia, Central and South America, and Oceania. Although Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for most deaths, P. vivax malaria is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Developing a protective vaccine will undoubtedly be an essential step toward malaria elimination. There is a strong need to explore new antigens that can promote the broad protection of immunized individuals against malaria. Given the high complexity of the parasite cycle, strategies based on a multi-antigen/multi-stage approach have most chances of success. Thus, we believe that the use of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), found in the parasite during the pre-erythrocytic stage, in conjunction with E140 protein located in both pre-erythrocytic and erythrocytic forms, may be able to prevent infection and/or clinical manifestations of vivax malaria. The technology platform based on mRNA has proven highly effective in different scenarios once it is flexible, scalable, and fast. We propose to explore this technology to maximize the chances of success in the search for a broadly protective formulation against malaria caused by P. vivax. (AU)