Transcript Reuben Mangi`s Poster - Centre For Biotechnology

Identifying Plasmodium falciparum MSP- 1 variants in Malaria Multiple Infections
By
Reuben Mangi Yaa
Supervisors:
Dr. George Obiero2 and Dr. L. Isabella Oyier1,2
1. Centre for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, 2KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, Kilifi
Objectives
Introduction
Figure 1. Malaria Victim( National Geographic)
Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal
species that infects humans and causes
severe malaria, has endured as a global
challenge despite many efforts to combat it.
To date, malaria claims approximately 1
million lives per year with most of these being
children living in sub-Saharan Africa.
Exploitation of the parasite proteins,
especially at the merozoite stage is an
attractive avenue for development of
interventions to control malaria due to the role
they play in erythrocyte invasion.
Merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1)
This research aimed to define the major MSP-1 variants circulating
in a malaria endemic population, in children with multiple malaria
episodes. and target this region as a vaccine candidate for
inclusion in a multi-allelic vaccine formulation through the following
specific objectives;
•
Identification of MSP1-19kDa gene polymorphisms in the
multiple malaria infections.
•
Determination of allelic changes between individuals infections.
•
Determination of the population proportion of allele frequencies
between infections.
is a parasite protein involved in the invasion of erythrocytes. It has been shown
to elicit immune responses in individuals in malaria endemic areas; hence it is a
promising asexual blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate antigen
Methods
Study Design
kDa genes
• Plasmodium falciparum MSP-1 19 kDa gene polymorphisms was
determined in 425 sera obtained from 33 children with at least 8
malaria episodes collected in 2008, in Junju, Kilifi County.
• Genomic DNA was extracted using QIAamp DNA and Blood Mini Kit as
per manufacturer’s instructions (Qiagen).
• BioEdiit and DNASTAR
Results
Expected Outcome
• Frequent halotypes for the polymorphic loci of MSP-119kDa between
infections in the study population.
• The prevalence of MSP-1 variants in a malaria endemic population will
provide an insight into the number of MSP-1 variants to include in a
malaria vaccine.
CENTRE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS (CEBIB), UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI