A Peptide-Based Plasmodium falciparum Circumsporozoite Assay To Test for Serum Antibody Responses to Pre-Erythrocyte Malaria Vaccines

Various pre-erythrocyte malaria vaccines are currently in clinical development, and among these is the adenovirus serotype 35-based circumsporozoite (CS) vaccine produced on PER.C6 cells. Although the immunological correlate of protection against malaria remains to be established, the CS antibody titer is a good marker for evaluation of candidate vaccines. Here we describe the validation of an anti-Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the binding of antibodies to a peptide antigen mimicking the CS repeat region. The interassay variability was determined to be below a coefficient of variation (CV) of 15%, and sensitivity was sufficient to detect low antibody titers in subjects from endemic regions. Antibody titers were in agreement with total antibody responses to the whole CS protein. Due to its simplicity and high performance, the ELISA is an easy and rapid method for assessment of pre-erythrocyte malaria vaccines based on CS.