CSP-MIP3α mRNA vaccine

The CSP-MIP3α mRNA vaccine (also known as the MIP3α-CSP mRNA vaccine) is an experimental, lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated mRNA vaccine designed to prevent malaria. Developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania, and Acuitas Therapeutics, the vaccine encodes a fusion protein consisting of the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) antigen fused to the chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein 3 alpha (MIP3α/CCL20). This fusion is engineered to target the PfCSP antigen to C-C chemokine receptor type 6 (CCR6) on immature dendritic cells (iDCs), enhancing antigen presentation. Preclinical studies in mice have demonstrated that the vaccine elicits robust CD4+ T cell responses and high antibody titers against the NANP repeat epitopes of PfCSP, providing significantly greater protection against liver-stage malaria infection compared to conventional CSP mRNA vaccines.

Other names

CSP-MIP3α mRNA-LNP vaccineiDC-targeting PfCSP mRNA vaccineMIP3α-CSP LNP-mRNA vaccineMIP3α-CSP mRNA vaccineMIP3α-CSP mRNA-LNP vaccine