But this technology is far from ideal as sporozoites cannot be cultivated in vitro . Chimpanzees are a good model for human malarial infection as they are similarly susceptible to sporozoites. Chimpanzees immunized with LSA-3 produce antibodies to it, which can activate the immune system to eliminate the parasite. This protein seems to be more effective than other sporozoite proteins at inducing an immune response, say the researchers in Nature Medicine 1 . Another advantage of LSA-3 is that its shape does not vary as much as other sporozoite proteins from one parasite strain to another.
Shape is a critical parameter of the interaction between a protein and an antibody.
So the vaccine should be effective for all strains of P. falciparum. Such vaccines might also elicit the production of white blood cells capable of destroying cells infected with the parasite. Daubersies, P. et al.