No sweet deal: the antibody-mediated immune response to malaria

Lars Hviid, Mary Lopez-Perez, Mads Delbo Larsen, Gestur Vidarsson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

IgG antibodies are key effector molecules in acquired immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria, and the PfEMP1 adhesins expressed on the surface of the infected erythrocytes are crucial immunological targets. The antigen specificity of these antibodies has therefore been a major research focus. However, we recently reported that the Fc domain of naturally induced PfEMP1-specific IgG1 is selectively modified by post-translational omission of fucose from the conserved Fc glycan. The resulting afucosylated IgG has increased affinity for the IgG-Fc-receptor III family (FcγRIII), found on natural killer cells and on subsets of other cells in the immune system. We discuss the implications of these findings for the basic understanding of antimalarial immunity and for the design of improved vaccines against the disease.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)428-434
Number of pages7
JournalTrends in Parasitology
Volume38
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work in the authors’ laboratories discussed in this article is supported by the Danish International Development Agency [grants 17-02-KU and BSU3-UG ] (L.H.), Danish Medical Research Council [grant 013400123B ] (M.L.P. and L.H.), and Landsteiner Foundation for Blood Transfusion Research (LSBR) [grant 1721 ] (G.V.).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Fc region
  • Fcγ receptors
  • Plasmodium falciparum malaria
  • acquired immunity
  • antibody effector function
  • fucosylation

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