How reliable are models for malaria vaccine development? Lessons from irradiated sporozoite immunizations

Models occupy a key position in the development of anti-parasitic vaccines, yet their relevance has been seldom addressed. It is customary to admit that malaria vaccine development requires easy-to-handle, laboratory models. Animal models involving predominantly inbred rodents and primates as parasite hosts are currently the basic tools for the study of host-parasite interactions. Literature however indicates that the induction of host protection is more difficult in natural host-parasite pairs than in experimental models of parasite infection. Moreover different models delineate a wide range of host-pathogen relationship profiles providing a mosaic of contradictory informations, yet there is little incentive to delineate their relevance or to exploit recent advances to develop improved model systems. In this context the analysis of natural host-parasite interactions between Plasmodium berghei and its mammalian host and reservoir, the tree rat Grammomys surdaster could ge of relevance in the study of host-parasite interactions.