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Biomedical subjects

W E Collins

Publications and source records attributed to W E Collins.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Immunization of owl monkeys with a combination of Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood-stage synthetic peptide antigens.

A mixture of 3 synthetic peptides (35.1, 55.1, and 83.1) corresponding to portions of the 35 kDa, 55 kDa, and 83 kDa proteins from the asexual blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum and a polymer of a syntheic peptide incorporating the 3 individual peptides (SPf66) were tested as candidate malaria vaccine antigens in Aotus nancymai. Monkeys were immunized with combinations of the 3 peptides from 2 separate sources (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], Atlanta, GA or Colombia) or with the synthetic polymer. Animals immunized with a combination of the 3 peptides from CDC had higher antibody titers to the 35.1 and 55.1 peptides than to the 83.1 peptide. Monkeys immunized with a combination of the 3 peptides produced in Colombia developed higher levels of antibody to the 55.1 than to the 83.1 and 35.1 peptides. Animals immunized with the polymer produced detectable antibodies to the 55.1 peptide alone. Following challenge with P. falciparum, no differences were observed between the 3 vaccine groups and 2 control groups with respect to the number of animals with parasitemias greater than or equal to 10%. The inconsistency of serologic response to all 3 peptides in these animals contrasted with previous trials performed in Colombia where the monkeys developed high antibody titers against the 3 peptides and were protected against the experimental infection.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Widespread reactivity of human sera with a variant repeat of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium vivax.

A panel of Brazilian and Indian sera was screened for reactivity with a variant strain of Plasmodium vivax recently isolated in Thailand. This strain has been shown to have a unique repeat region which differs from the previously described P. vivax CS proteins. A total of 21/343 human sera were found to react with a synthetic peptide representing the variant P. vivax repeat. All of the sera that reacted with the variant repeat peptide, (ANGAGNQPG)4, also reacted with variant P. vivax sporozoites. Both the anti-peptide and the antisporozoite reactivity were totally abolished by adsorption with the variant peptide. Some of the human sera contained variant antibodies that were species specific and could only be adsorbed with the specific variant peptide. These findings suggest that the variant strain of P. vivax might have a worldwide distribution. We also found that some of the variant positive sera reacted with P. brasilianum sporozoites and with the P. brasilianum/P. malariae CS repeat. The adsorption of these sera with the P. brasilianum/P. malariae repeat peptide, (NAAG)4, significantly reduced the reactivity of these sera with the P. vivax variant. In addition, polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies of mice immunized with P. brasilianum sporozoites cross-reacted with the variant P. vivax CS. These findings suggest that exposure to P. brasilianum or P. malariae may give rise to sporozoite antibodies which cross-react with the P. vivax variant CS.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Further studies on the immunization of Saimiri sciureus boliviensis with recombinant vaccines based on the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium vivax.

Reported are the results of a trial in squirrel monkeys of 2 Plasmodium vivax malaria vaccine candidates based on the circumsporozoite (CS) protein, namely, rPvCs-2 and rPvCS-3. Compared with an earlier recombinant P. vivax CS construct, rPvCS-1, rPvCS-2 has an additional 24 amino acids at the C-terminal, which includes the thrombospondin region of homology and a putative T cell epitope. The rPvCS-3 was generated from a chemically synthesized gene that contained an additional 54 amino acids at the amino terminus and terminates at the same carboxy-terminal amino acid as rPvCS-2. In addition, rPvCS-3 contained only 1 each of the repeat sequences DRADGQPAG and DRAAGQPAG. Both antigens were administered with alum as adjuvant. Neither formulation caused toxic side effects and both recombinant molecules induced high antibody titers. Two monkeys were protected against sporozoite challenge by immunization with rPvCS-2 antigen, while none of the rPvCS-3 immunized animals displayed any degree of protection. While there was no correlation between protection and antibody titer or the in vitro proliferation of lymphocytes in response to the antigens, this is further evidence to support the role of the repeating epitopes in generating protective immunity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Testing of Plasmodium vivax CS proteins in Saimiri monkeys.

Recombinant proteins directed against the circumsporozoite (CS) protein of Plasmodium vivax were tested for safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in Saimiri sciureus boliviensis monkeys. The monkeys were immunized 3 times with either alum or muramyl tripeptide as adjuvant, and were challenged with 10,000 sporozoites (P. vivax, Salvador I strain) from mosquitos infected by membrane feeding on gametocytes from chimpanzees. Antibodies, measured by indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, were induced by all the vaccines. Six of 42 monkeys immunized with recombinant or synthetically produced vaccines were protected. Two of 6 monkeys immunized with irradiated sporozoites were protected. Saimiri appear to be less susceptible than are humans to sporozoite infection. Therefore, the predictive usefulness of this model must await the results of comparable trials in monkeys and humans.

Animals↗

Use of non-human primate hepatocytes for in vitro study of the pre-erythrocytic stages of malaria parasites.

Methods were developed that allow invasion of sporozoites from simian malaria parasite species (Plasmodium cynomolgi, P. knowlesi, P. coatneyi, P. inui, P. gonderi, P. fragile) and development to schizont stages in rhesus and Saimiri monkey hepatocytes. The P. cynomolgi-rhesus monkey model was used to study inhibition of schizont development using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced against the circumsporozoite (CS) protein of various strains and species of malaria parasites. Immunoelectron microscopy, using gold-labelled MAbs and cultured parasites, demonstrated that the CS protein persists in 7-day old liver stages of P. cynomolgi, but is not expressed at the surface of infected hepatocytes. A rhesus monkey was immunized with autologous hepatocytes (collected by biopsy) infected in vitro with liver stages of P. cynomolgi. This immunization elicited antibodies reacting with sporozoite, liver stage, and blood-stage parasites. In addition, human malaria parasites (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae) have been cultured in Saimiri or rhesus monkey hepatocytes. The P. vivax-Saimiri monkey model was used to study inhibition activity of sera from Saimiri monkeys experimentally immunized with recombinant P. vivax CS proteins. Post-immunization sera inhibited the parasite development, thus demonstrating the induction of antibodies effective against sporozoites. No relationship, however, was detected between in vitro inhibition and in vivo protection or antibody titres determined by ELISA or IFA.

Animals↗

The Peruvian III strain of Plasmodium brasilianum in Saimiri sciureus boliviensis monkeys.

A strain of Plasmodium brasilianum was isolated from a naturally infected Saimiri monkey from Peru and subsequently passaged to 21 splenectomized Saimiri sciureus boliviensis monkeys. Nine of 12 attempts to transmit infection by sporozoite inoculation were successful with prepatent periods ranging from 23 to 41 days. Gametocytes were infective to Anopheles freeborni, Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles dirus, Anopheles maculatus, and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. The strain demonstrated a high level of resistance to cure with chloroquine.

Animals↗

Transmission of Plasmodium fragile to Saimiri monkeys.

Saimiri monkeys from Bolivia and Guyana were infected with the Nilgiri and Ceylon strains of Plasmodium fragile. Of 20 attempted sporozoite transmissions of the Ceylon strain involving 11 splenectomized Saimiri sciureus boliviensis, only 8 were successful, 2 by mosquito bite and 6 by intravenous injection of sporozoites dissected from salivary glands. Prepatent periods ranged from 18 to 30 days with a mean of 25.8 days.

Animals↗

In vitro maturation of the exoerythrocytic stage of Plasmodium knowlesi observed under phase contrast microscopy.

Exoerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium knowlesi were obtained in primary culture of rhesus monkey hepatocytes. The development of a single parasite was followed with phase contrast microscopy until release of merozoites in slightly less than 5 days. This direct observation may offer opportunities to determine visually factors that may influence specific steps of schizont development.

Animals↗

In-vitro exoerythrocytic development of Plasmodium cynomolgi bastianellii: inhibitory activity of monoclonal antibodies against sporozoites of different P. cynomolgi strains and of P. knowlesi.

The inhibitory effect of anti-sporozoite monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) on the in-vitro development of liver stages of Plasmodium cynomolgi bastianellii (NIH strain) was evaluated using primary cultures of rhesus monkey hepatocytes. MoAbs against the circumsporozoite proteins of five strains of P. cynomolgi (NIH, London, Gombak, Ceylon, Berok), and of P. knowlesi (H strain) were used. Incubation of sporozoites of P. cynomolgi bastianellii with the anti-NIH strain MoAbs entirely prevented liver-stage development; MoAbs produced against the other four strains had no apparent activity. The anti-P. knowlesi MoAbs had a partially inhibitory effect on parasite development. These functional studies complement previous immunological studies on P. cynomolgi strain specificity, and confirm the cross-reactivity observed previously between sporozoites of P. cynomolgi bastianellii and P. knowlesi (H strain).

Animals↗

Localization of circumsporozoite antigen in exoerythrocytic schizonts of Plasmodium cynomolgi.

We used colloidal gold probes and post-embedding immunoelectron microscopy to localize circumsporozoite (CS) antigen in 5- and 8-day-old in vitro cultures of Plasmodium cynomolgi exoerythrocytic (EE) schizonts. Both small uninucleated and large multinucleated EE schizonts were found in 5-day-old cultures. A mouse monoclonal antibody to the repeat region of the P. cynomolgi CS protein densely labeled the plasma membrane and surface of 5-day-old EE schizonts as well as the surrounding parasitophorous vacuole membrane and space. Density of labeling decreased significantly as EE schizonts increased in size and maturity. Labeling of large, multinucleated 5-day-old schizonts was sparse and limited to the surface of EE schizonts and to small patches of electron dense material which were attached to the inner surface of the parasitophorous vacuole membrane. Mature 8-day-old EE schizonts with developing merozoites had little detectable labeling. CS antigen was not associated with internal structures within developing schizonts. Labeling was not observed in the host cell cytoplasm or on the surface of infected hepatocytes. These findings indicate that epitopes associated with the repeat region of the P. cynomolgi circumsporozoite protein are sequestered within infected host cells during EE development.

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In vitro activity of antimalarial compounds on the exoerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium cynomolgi and P. knowlesi.

Primary cultures of Macaca mulatta hepatocytes infected with sporozoites of Plasmodium knowlesi, P. cynomolgi (Cambodian strain), and P. cynomolgi bastianellii were exposed in vitro to 7 antimalarial compounds. The number of exoerythrocytic schizonts present after 4-7 days of culture was used to assess the activity. With pyrimethamine, proguanil, cycloguanil, primaquine, and 2 of its analogues (WR242511 and WR238605), marked inhibition of schizont formation could be achieved at concentrations below those causing a cytotoxic effect on the host hepatocytes. Chloroquine had only minimal schizonticidal activity at a concentration that produced severe hepatocyte toxicity. This simian in vitro system provides a reliable model for screening antimalarial compounds and for investigating their effects on the hepatic stage of malaria parasites.

Animals↗

Immunization of Saimiri sciureus boliviensis with recombinant vaccines based on the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium vivax.

We report a trial in squirrel monkeys of 2 recombinant Plasmodium vivax malaria vaccine candidates based on the circumsporozoite (CS) protein. One recombinant (NSl81V20), produced in Escherichia coli, contains the repeat region of the CS protein. The other (VIVAX-1) recombinant is yeast-derived and contains the entire repeat domain and part of the surrounding N-terminal and C-terminal regions. Both antigens were administered with alum and muramyl tripeptide as adjuvants. No formulations caused toxic side effects. Both antigens, when administered with alum, induced high levels of sporozoite antibodies in all animals. Another group of animals was immunized with irradiated sporozoites alone. Upon challenge, a few immunized animals did not develop detectable parasitemia and others developed parasitemia only after a prolonged prepatent period. Monkeys immunized with irradiated sporozoites had higher levels of antibody but no increased protection. There was no correlation between protection and either antibody level or the in vitro proliferation of lymphocytes in response to the antigens. This is the first time P. vivax sporozoite vaccines have been tested in monkeys with a subsequent sporozoite challenge.

Animals↗

Enhancement of in vitro infectivity of simian malaria sporozoites to hepatocytes by centrifugation.

Sporozoites of Plasmodium cynomolgi, Plasmodium knowlesi, and Plasmodium coatneyi were deposited onto monolayers of hepatocytes from rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). When sporozoites were centrifuged (1,600 g for 5 min), 4-13-fold more schizonts were observed than were found in noncentrifuged control cultures. Centrifugation of hepatocyte monolayers before adding sporozoites did not modify the number of parasites.

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The Uganda I/CDC strain of Plasmodium malariae in Aotus lemurinus griseimembra monkeys.

Two lines of the Uganda I/CDC strain of Plasmodium malariae were studied in splenectomized Aotus lemurinus griseimembra monkeys. A line initially adapted to these monkeys from an infected chimpanzee failed to produce high-level parasite counts or mosquito infection in 13 of this type of monkey during 16 linear passages. Another line, originally adapted from the chimpanzee to Aotus azarae boliviensis, after 7 linear passages in 3 different types of Aotus was then passaged to 14 splenectomized A. lemurinus griseimembra. Geometric mean maximum parasitemia in these monkeys was 18,400/mm3. Mosquito infections were readily obtained during the period just after the parasite count rose above 1,000/mm3. Anopheles freeborni, An. stephensi, An. dirus, and 2 strains of An. gambiae supported the development of the parasite to the presence of sporozoites in the salivary glands. Two attempts to transmit the strain to other splenectomized A. lemurinus griseimembra by sporozoite inoculation were unsuccessful.

Animals↗

The Uganda I/CDC strain of Plasmodium malariae in Saimiri sciureus boliviensis.

The Uganda I/CDC strain of Plasmodium malariae, initially adapted to monkeys of the genus Aotus, was studied in splenectomized Saimiri sciureus boliviensis. Mean maximum parasitemia ranged from 248 to 22,134/mm3. Only 1 mosquito was infected of 2,238 examined. After the parasite was adapted to this host, infections were characterized by periods of detectable parasitemia extending up to 269 days and by sustained periods when parasite counts were greater than 1,000/mm3. After 4 linear passages, the developmental time required before the primary peak parasite count was approximately 2 mo.

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Malaria sporozoite penetration. A new approach by double staining.

To determine, whether a sporozoite is outside the hepatocyte membrane or internalized, a double staining test was carried out using, successively, antibody labeled with peroxidase and fluorescein. This test permits the quantification of sporozoite entry and outline sporozoite-hepatocyte interactions.

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Circumsporozoite protein gene from Plasmodium brasilianum. Animal reservoirs for human malaria parasites?

We describe here the sequence of the circumsporozoite protein gene of the monkey malaria parasite Plasmodium brasilianum and show that the immunodominant repeat domain is the same as that of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium malariae. The immunodominant epitope on the surface of sporozoites of a third species of human malaria parasite has, therefore, been identified. This genetic based data and the biological similarities between P. brasilianum and P. malariae support their putative zoonotic/anthroponotic relationship. We also show that an ape malaria parasite, Plasmodium reichenowi, and the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, have a similar relationship. The implications of these observations are discussed with respect to vaccine development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗