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Pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines: towards greater efficacy

2005; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 6; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/nri1746

1474-1741

Adrian V. S. Hill,

vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches

Adrian Hill gives us a rundown of the latest developments in malaria vaccine research, and he highlights the recent promising results from clinical trials in Africa of vaccines that target the pre-erythrocytic stages of the malaria life cycle. The complex life cycle of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum provides many options for vaccine design. Several new types of vaccine are now being evaluated in clinical trials. Recently, two vaccine candidates that target the pre-erythrocytic stages of the malaria life cycle ? a protein particle vaccine with a powerful adjuvant and a prime?boost viral-vector vaccine ? have entered Phase II clinical trials in the field and the first has shown partial efficacy in preventing malarial disease in African children. This Review focuses on the potential immunological basis for the encouraging partial protection induced by these vaccines, and it considers ways for developing more effective malaria vaccines.