Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2009 Dec 30:8:312.
doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-8-312.

Immunological mechanisms underlying protection mediated by RTS,S: a review of the available data

Vasee S Moorthy  1 , W Ripley Ballou
Affiliations
Review

Immunological mechanisms underlying protection mediated by RTS,S: a review of the available data

Vasee S Moorthy et al. Malar J. .

Abstract

The RTS,S/AS candidate malaria vaccine has demonstrated efficacy against a variety of endpoints in Phase IIa and Phase IIb trials over more than a decade. A multi-country phase III trial of RTS,S/AS01 is now underway with submission as early as 2012, if vaccine safety and efficacy are confirmed. The immunologic basis for how the vaccine protects against both infection and disease remains uncertain. It is, therefore, timely to review the information currently available about the vaccine with regard to how it impacts the human-Plasmodium falciparum host-pathogen relationship. In this article, what is known about mechanisms involved in partial protection against malaria induced by RTS,S is reviewed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The relationship between a protective immune response and reduction in risk of a defined malaria endpoint. If the risk of a defined malaria endpoint (infection or disease) is inversely related to a vaccine-induced immune response, it may be possible to describe this relationship graphically. Three hypothetical relationships are shown above. The blue dashed line represents a relationship for which a clear threshold could be calculated using efficacy trial data, but in a biological system such a relationship is perhaps less likely than the dotted green and solid red lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Greenwood BM, Fidock DA, Kyle DE, Kappe SH, Alonso PL, Collins FH, Duffy PE. Malaria: progress, perils, and prospects for eradication. J Clin Invest. 2008;118:1266–1276. doi: 10.1172/JCI33996. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Garcon N, Heppner DG, Cohen J. Development of RTS,S/AS02: a purified subunit-based malaria vaccine candidate formulated with a novel adjuvant. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2003;2:231–238. doi: 10.1586/14760584.2.2.231. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Reed SG, Bertholet S, Coler RN, Friede M. New horizons in adjuvants for vaccine development. Trends Immunol. 2009;30:23–32. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2008.09.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bojang KA, Milligan PJ, Pinder M, Vigneron L, Alloueche A, Kester KE, Ballou WR, Conway DJ, Reece WH, Gothard P, Yamuah L, Delchambre M, Voss G, Greenwood BM, Hill A, McAdam KP, Tornieporth N, Cohen JD, Doherty T. RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Trial Team. Efficacy of RTS,S/AS02 malaria vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum infection in semi-immune adult men in The Gambia: a randomised trial. Lancet. 2001;358:1927–1934. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(01)06957-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alonso PL, Sacarlal J, Aponte JJ, Leach A, Macete E, Milman J, Mandomando I, Spiessens B, Guinovart C, Espasa M, Bassat Q, Aide P, Ofori-Anyinam O, Navia MM, Corachan S, Ceuppens M, Dubois MC, Demoitié MA, Dubovsky F, Menéndez C, Tornieporth N, Ballou WR, Thompson R, Cohen J. Efficacy of the RTS,S/AS02A vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum infection and disease in young African children: randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2004;364:1411–1420. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17223-1. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms