Molecular analysis of the association of HLA-B53 and resistance to severe malaria.
Hill AV., Elvin J., Willis AC., Aidoo M., Allsopp CE., Gotch FM., Gao XM., Takiguchi M., Greenwood BM., Townsend AR.
The protective association between the human leukocyte antigen HLA-B53 and severe malaria was investigated by sequencing of peptides eluted from this molecule followed by screening of candidate epitopes from pre-erythrocytic-stage antigens of Plasmodium falciparum in biochemical and cellular assays. Among malaria-immune Africans, HLA-B53-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognized a conserved nonamer peptide from liver-stage-specific antigen-1 (LSA-1), but no HLA-B53-restricted epitopes were identified in other antigens. These findings indicate a possible molecular basis for this HLA-disease association and support the candidacy of liver-stage-specific antigen-1 as a malaria vaccine component.