A longitudinal study of seroreactivities to a major blood stage antigen (Pf155/RESA) of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in an endemic area of Thailand

Abstract

We have performed a longitudinal study of the formation of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum in an area of Thailand where malaria transmission is moderate and seasonal. The study population comprised 118 subjects living in two villages 230 km southeast of Bangkok. All subjects included in this study were seropositive for antibodies to the blood stages of P. falciparum but only approximately 80% had antibodies to the blood stage antigen Pf155/RESA when assayed by erythrocyte membrane immunofluorescence (EMIF) or peptide ELISA during the period of maximal transmission. The reduced capacity to form these antibodies in a significant fraction of subjects living under comparable environmental and socio-economic conditions may reflect a genetic but antigen specific non-responsiveness. Both seropositivity and mean antibody titers to Pf155/RESA and its B-cell epitopes tended to be slightly higher during the rainy than during the dry season but the seasonal variations were slight and statistically not significant. Parasite rates were significantly higher in the rainy than in the dry season in both the EMIF positive and the EMIF negative groups. However, during the rainy season, the parasite rates in subjects with no or low titered antibodies to Pf155/RESA were significantly higher than those in subjects having such antibodies. The results suggest that antibodies to Pf155/RESA and some of its defined epitopes may be of importance for controlling parasitemias.