Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite protein (PvCSP)

The Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite protein (PvCSP) is the most abundant surface protein on the sporozoite stage of the malaria parasite and is essential for its life cycle [1, 2]. It facilitates sporozoite development within the mosquito oocyst and enables migration to the salivary glands, as well as subsequent motility within the human dermis and invasion of host hepatocytes [4, 5]. The protein's structure includes a central repetitive region flanked by conserved N-terminal and C-terminal domains, which mediate binding to heparan sulfate proteoglycans on liver cells [2, 4]. PvCSP is a primary target for the development of pre-erythrocytic vaccines, which aim to induce protective antibodies that block the parasite's entry into the liver [6, 8]. Successful immunization against PvCSP could potentially prevent both the primary blood-stage infection and the formation of dormant hypnozoites, which are responsible for malaria relapses [2, 13]. However, the high degree of genetic polymorphism among P. vivax strains, particularly in the central repeat regions (variants VK210 and VK247), remains a significant challenge for achieving broad and lasting vaccine efficacy [1, 5, 11].

Other names

Circumsporozoite surface proteinCS proteinPvCSPPvCSCSP

Induction of neutralizing antibodies that bind to the central repeat region and functional domains of PvCSP to block sporozoite motility and prevent hepatocyte invasion [2, 3, 8, 14].