WEHI Wednesday Seminar hosted by Professor Alan Cowman
 

Dr Stephen Scally

Senior Research Scientist (Laboratory) – Cowman Laboratory, Infection and Global Health division, WEHI

Developing a novel malaria vaccine against blood, mosquito and liver stages of malaria

 

Davis Auditorium

Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIWednesday

Including Q&A session
 

Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites, is a mosquito-borne disease of global significance. In 2023, an estimated 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths were reported. Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) and Plasmodium vivax (Pv) are the most clinically relevant and account for most cases and deaths. Despite progress made through bed nets and chemoprevention, millions of lives remain at risk in endemic regions. Currently, only two vaccines, RTS,S and R21, have been approved for clinical use, however, they elicit only partial protection of modest duration. Thus, there remains an urgent need for next-generation malaria vaccines which can target multiple life cycle stages to dramatically reduce morbidity and mortality, interrupt transmission, and contribute to the long-term goal of global eradication.

The PCRCR complex plays an essential role in merozoite invasion of Pf into erythrocytes and its components represent promising vaccine candidates. The complex comprises PTRAMP (Plasmodium thrombospondin-related apical merozoite protein), CSS (Cysteine-rich small secreted), Ripr (Rh5 interacting protein), CyRPA (Cysteine-Rich Protective Antigen) and Rh5 (Reticulocyte-binding protein homolog 5), all of which are essential for parasite invasion of erythrocytes. Crucially, the sequence of all proteins in the complex are highly conserved amongst different Pf strains and therefore represent ideal targets for strain-transcending protection against Pf, in contrast to other vaccine candidates, such as RTS,S and R21, whose target (CSP) is polymorphic. This seminar will discuss our recent progress to define the molecular mechanisms that underpin Plasmodium parasite invasion, study how antibodies and nanobodies abrogate this process, and therefore generate the blueprints to rationally design an effective vaccine.

All welcome!