ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Parasite Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1589061
This article is part of the Research TopicDissecting malaria protective immunity: acquired by natural infection and/or vaccinationView all 10 articles
Seroprevalence of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum transmission-blocking target proteins Pfs230D1M and Pfs48/45 in Tanzanian populations of diverse malaria transmission intensity
Provisionally accepted- 1Department of Clinical Trials and Interventions, Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Tanzania
- 2School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
- 3European Vaccine Initiative, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- 4Vector Control Product testing Unit, Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Tanzania
- 5Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Transmission-blocking vaccines are among the novel tools under development for malaria control and elimination. Understanding the human immune response to the sexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum is essential for progressing transmission-blocking vaccine development. A serosurvey was conducted in Tanzania, from May to August 2022 among 290 participants, including 114 children (5-12 years), 44 adolescents (13-17 years), and 132 adults (18-45 years). The participants were tested for malaria parasites using quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction, and standardized Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays were performed to detect the presence of IgG antibodies against transmission-blocking target antigens -Pfs230D1M, Pfs48/45, and Pfs25. A set of 10 plasma samples that were reactive to Pfs230DIM and/or Pfs48/45 were tested individually for transmission-reducing activity via standard membrane feeding assays. Of the participants tested, 56% (157/281) had detectable Pfs230D1M antibodies, and 49% (141/290) were positive for Pfs48/45 IgG. Approximately 30% were seropositive for both. However, Pfs25 IgG was not detected in any of the 117 participants tested. The seroprevalence for Pfs230D1M and Pfs48/45 IgG increased significantly with participants' age, with adults more likely to have antibodies than the children; Pfs230D1M (adjusted Odds Ratio: 3.16, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.81-5.53, p-value=<0.0001), and Pfs45/48 (OR: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.79-5.25, p = <0.0001). There was no significant difference in antibody titres for Pfs230D1M and Pfs48/45 antibodies across age groups.A significant transmission-reducing activity was observed in 2/10 participants who were highly reactive to Pfs230D1M and Pfs48/45. Naturally acquired antibody responses to both full length Pfs48/45 and Pfs230D1M proteins are prevalent and appeared to be stable, suggesting that semi-immune populations may be ideal to evaluate boosting transmission-blocking vaccine candidates.
Keywords: malaria transmission, Transmission-blocking vaccines, Plasmodium falciparum, gametocytes, Tanzania, Pfs25, Pfs230D1M, and Pfs48/45
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 01 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mulamba, KALINGA, Mtaka, Lazaro, Nkumama, Odufuwa, Kamage, Mekhaiel, Olotu and Williams. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chris Williams, Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7DQ, England, United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.