T cell memory in malaria

• Published in: Current Opinion in Immunology Vol. 19; no. 4; pp. 424 - 429
• Main Authors: Cockburn, Ian A, Zavala, Fidel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2007
• Subjects: Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Antigens, Protozoan - immunology; Antigens, Protozoan - metabolism; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; Dendritic Cells - immunology; Dendritic Cells - metabolism; Humans; Immunity, Cellular; Immunologic Memory; Malaria - immunology; Malaria - parasitology; Plasmodium - immunology; Plasmodium - metabolism; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - immunology; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell - metabolism
• ISSN: 0952-7915; 1879-0372; 1365-2567
• DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2007.05.008

The observation that individuals living in malaria endemic areas fail to develop sterilizing immunity to malaria infection has led to the assumption that malaria-specific immune responses are sub-optimal. Recently, T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mice specific for the sporozoite and blood stages of the malaria parasite have been developed. Studies using these models have found that, unexpectedly, T cell memory in malaria is not noticeably defective. However, if T cell memory is ‘normal’ why are people not better protected? We suggest this is because protective immunity and T cell memory do not always correlate; moreover, T cells alone may simply not be able to provide the type of antibody-mediated sterilizing immunity induced by traditional vaccines.