Ripr Polypeptide Fragment Malaria Vaccine Antigen
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current malaria vaccines lack an effective antigen that can inhibit the growth of malaria parasites, particularly during the merozoite stage, where Rh5 interacting protein (Ripr) shows promise but requires optimization for immunological activity.
Innovation Solution
A polypeptide fragment derived from the Ripr protein, specifically sequences with 95-99% identity, is used as a vaccine antigen, either alone or in combination with other malaria antigens, and administered with carriers like viral particles or lipid particles to induce immune response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fragment of Ripr protein is used as vaccine antigen, then the ability to inhibit malaria parasite growth is improved, but the immunological activity requires optimization through sequence selection
Solution Approach 1:
The Ripr protein is divided into multiple fragments (e.g., amino acid residues 648-830, 720-934) to identify specific regions that elicit protective immune responses. This segmentation allows selection of optimal epitopes that provide reliable parasite growth inhibition while simplifying the vaccine antigen design.
Solution Approach 2:
Specific local regions of the Ripr protein (such as the fragment from residues 648-830) are identified as having superior immunological properties. By focusing on these high-quality local regions rather than using the entire protein, the vaccine achieves reliable efficacy with optimized immunological activity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple malaria vaccine antigens are combined in a single vaccine, then the breadth of protection is improved, but the vaccine formulation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The vaccine combines multiple malaria antigens including Ripr fragments with other validated antigens such as CSP, TRAP, MSP1, AMA-1, SERA5, GAMA, EBA175, RH5, Pfs25, or Pfs230. This merging approach provides broad protection against different stages and strains of malaria parasites while maintaining a manageable formulation through standardized combination protocols.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The polypeptide fragment effectively inhibits malaria parasite growth by inducing antibodies that recognize and target the parasites, providing a potential solution for preventing malaria infection and disease development.
Implementation Method 1
an antibody obtained with a fragment of Ripr, a protein from a malaria parasite, as an antigen inhibits growth of malaria parasites
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a polypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence selected from:(a) the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 8,(b) an amino acid sequence that differs from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 8 by substitution, deletion, addition, or insertion of 1 to 10, preferably 1-5, more preferably 1, 2 or 3 amino acids, and(c) an amino acid sequence that has at least 95%, preferably 97%, more preferably 99% sequence identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 8, and a malaria vaccine comprising the polypeptide, for example.