A Rapid Method for Screening Antibodies to Plasmodium yoelii Liver Stages by Immunofluorescence
Abstract
The developmental stages of plasmodia receiving the most attention in the search for a malaria vaccine are sporozoites, blood stages, and gametes. The liver stages have been the least studied. Nonetheless, recent evidence has shown that liver stages(LS) of Plasmodium falciparum have their own unique stage-specific antigens and conceivably the liver stages may eventually provide antigens with demonstrated capability of inducing protective immunity at the level of the liver. In addition, the presence of circumsporozoite (CS) antigen in trophozoites that develop from irradiated and nonirradiated sporozoites implicates the liver stages in the development of malarial immunity. The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) has been applied in assessing immune responses to malaria infections and in developing hybridomas secreting antibodies directed against stage-specific antigens. The IFA technique applied to LS relies on the use of either thin frozen liver sections or sections cut from blocks of liver fixed in Carnoy's solution as the antigen. The present report describes a rapid, simple method of preparing high-quality antigen slides of LS of Plasmodium yoelii. The method can also be applied to any rodent malaria parasite. Keywords: Reprints; Bioassay; Fluorescent antibody techniques.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA206374
Entities
People
- Martha Sedegah
- Mary F. Leef
- Richard L. Beaudoin
- Steven Matheny
Organizations
- Naval Medical Research Center