Age-dependent antibody response to Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP-2)

Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP-2), a very immunogenic malaria antigen, is a highly polymorphic 45-53 kDa merozoite surface protein, which is regarded as a promising vaccine candidate. The highly polymorphic nature of MSP-2 suggests that the molecule can be involved in protective immunity against malaria. The antibody responses to MSP-2 antigen are mostly directed against polymorphic and dimorphic regions of the protein. The current study aimed at testing the reactivity of human sera from a malaria-endemic area of Gambia against MSP-2 regions 2, 3 and 4 compared to crude schizont extract in a period of 20 years. The age-dependent immunity was analysed in a manner of cross-sectional study (the data of the first visit) and also a longitudinal study design (analysing the data at four different time points from 1960 to 1980) testing the sera of 178 individuals randomly selected from the Keneba Serum Collection by using MSP-2 recombinant protein. The total IgG responses were measured by ELISA. Kolmogorov-Smirnov was used to check the normal distribution of OD, Hb and parasitaemia, and then Spearman correlation was applied to analyse the data. Most sera recognized, predominantly, the variable regions of the MSP-2, particularly the domain 3. The IgG response against all the antigens increased with age. The IgG responses against domain 3 of MSP-2 were associated with an increase in haemoglobin levels but a decrease in parasitaemia, suggesting that this immune response may be one of the most useful means for further studies on protective immunity against malaria.