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High Yield Purification of Plasmodium falciparum Merozoites For Use in Opsonizing Antibody Assays
Published on: July 17, 2014
Identification of Plasmodium knowlesi Merozoite Surface Protein-119 (PkMSP-119 ) novel binding peptides from a phage
Xiang Ting Goh1, Kek Heng Chua2, Boon Pin Kee2
1Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Objective:
Plasmodium knowlesi, the fifth human malaria parasite, has caused mortality in humans. We aimed to identify P. knowlesi novel binding peptides through a random linear dodecapeptide phage display targeting the 19-kDa fragment of Merozoite Surface Protein-1 protein.
Methods:
rPkMSP-119 protein was heterologously expressed using Expresso® Solubility and Expression Screening System and competent E. cloni® 10G cells according to protocol. Three rounds of biopanning were performed on purified rPkMSP-119 to identify binding peptides towards rPkMSP-119 using Ph.D.™-12 random phage display library. Binding sites of the identified peptides to PkMSP-119 were in silico predicted using the CABS-dock web server.
Results:
Four phage peptide variants that bound to PkMSP-119 were identified after three rounds of biopanning, namely Pkd1, Pkd2, Pkd3 and Pkd4. The sequences of both Pkd1 and Pkd2 consist of a large number of histidine residues. Pkd1 showed positive binding signal with 6.1× vs. BSA control. Docking results showed that Pkd1 and Pkd2 were ideal binding peptides for PkMSP-119 .
Conclusion:
We identified two novel binding peptides of PkMSP-119 , Pkd1 (HFPFHHHKLRAH) and Pkd2 (HPMHMLHKRQHG), through phage display. They provide a valuable starting point for the development of novel therapeutics.

