• Vaccine Name: MSP3-LSP with aluminium hydroxide
• Target Pathogen: Plasmodium spp.
• Target Disease: Malaria
• Vaccine Ontology ID: VO_0000773
• Type: Subunit vaccine
• Antigen: The merozoite surface protein-3 long synthetic peptide (MSP3-LSP) comprises the amino acid sequence 186-276 of the Plasmodium falciparum protein MSP3 (Sirima et al., 2007). The C-terminal conserved region of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 3 (MSP3) is the trigger antigen of a protective immune response mediated by cytophilic antibodies (Audran et al., 2005).
• Adjuvant:
  • Adjuvant name:
  • VO adjuvant ID: VO_0000127
  • Description: aluminium hydroxide (Sirima et al., 2007). In another phase I clinical trial study using MSP3-LSP, two adjuvants were used, including Montanide ISA 720 and aluminum hydroxide (Audran et al., 2005). However, it showed that it was unacceptably reactogenic when it was combined with Montanide (Audran et al., 2005).
• Virulence: No.

Human Response

• Host Strain: healthy male adults Africans
• Vaccination Protocol: A Phase 1b single-blind controlled trial was performed in the village of Balonghin in Burkina Faso. Thirty male volunteers aged 18-40 years were randomised to receive either three doses of 30 microg MSP3-LSP or 0.5 ml of tetanus toxoid vaccine . The second and third vaccine doses were given 28 and 112 days after the first dose . Participants for 1 year were followed for one year (Sirima et al., 2007).
• Persistence: Immune response did not wane appreciably up to 365 days post-vaccination (Sirima et al., 2007).
• Immune Response: Humoral immune responses (IgG, IgG subclasses, IgM) to MSP3-LSP peptide were similar in the two groups following vaccination. Some cell-mediated immune responses appeared to differ between the two vaccine groups. After the second dose of MSP3-LSP, there appeared to be a marked increase in the lymphocyte proliferation index and IFN-gamma in response to stimulation with MSP3-LSP (Sirima et al., 2007).
• Side Effects: There were no serious adverse events in either vaccine group. In both groups participants reported local reactions at the site of injection when compared to an earlier trial in European volunteers. Only one systemic adverse event ( tachycardia ) was identified which occurred immediately after the first vaccination in one individual receiving MSP3-LSP. No clinically significant biological abnormalities following vaccination were observed (Sirima et al., 2007).
• Description: In summary, this Phase 1b single-blind controlled trial showed that three doses of 30 microg MSP3-LSP when administered subcutaneously on days 0 , 28 and 112 are well-tolerated by adult males previously exposed to natural P falciparum infection. MSP3-LSP is able to stimulate an enhanced cell-mediated immune response in individuals with some degree of preexisting immunity (Sirima et al., 2007).