A vaccination strategy to prevent experimental cerebral malaria.

• Main Author: Ong, Joanne Wei En.
• Other Authors: School of Biological Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::Biological sciences::Microbiology::Immunology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/45106
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Infection of C57BL/6 mice with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) induces a syndrome called experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) in mice, commonly used as a model to study cerebral malaria (CM) in humans, a major complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection. In this study we showed that immunization of C57BL/6 mice with live erythrocytes infected with PbA under chloroquine cover confers a partial protection against blood stage infection. This protection is mediated by antibodies. Although immunization was able to induce a reduction of parasitemia in peripheral blood and a decrease of parasite sequestration in the brain at the time of ECM onset, T cells sequestration in the brain remained unchanged and immunization did not prevent the occurrence of ECM. These findings have provided new insights into the possible prevention of CM through appropriate vaccination.