Dysfunctional memory B cell responses to the protective repeat region of the Plasmodium circumsporozoite protein are associated with waning humoral immunity

Abstract

Malaria vaccines provide waning protection from disease that is correlated with the production of antibodies to the repeat region of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP). CSP-based vaccines display limited durability in malaria-naive individuals yet are even less effective in malaria-experienced individuals, suggesting the generation of non-optimal humoral immunity in response to both infection and vaccination. To address this hypothesis, we performed a cross-species, comprehensive analysis of B cell responses to CSP after Plasmodium infection or immunization, focusing our analysis on the repeat and C-terminus domains included in malaria subunit vaccines. Herein we demonstrate that the repetitive nature of the protective region of the CSP protein independently impacts the differentiation of the CSP-specific B cells, impinging on their ability to recall for multiple subsequent exposures.