Article
Genetic polymorphism of the serine rich antigen N-terminal region in Plasmodium falciparum field isolates from Brazil
Registro en:
RICCIO, Evelyn Kety Pratt et al. Genetic polymorphism of the serine rich antigen N-terminal region in Plasmodium falciparum field isolates from Brazil. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, v. 100, n. 1, p. 47-49, Feb. 2005.
0074-0276
10.1590/s0074-02762005000100009
1678-8060
Autor
Riccio, Evelyn Kety Pratt
Zalis, Mariano Gustavo
Guedes, Helena Cristina Balthazar
Banic, Dalma Maria
Souza, José Maria de
Alecrim, Wilson
Camus, Daniel
Ribeiro, Cláudio Tadeu Daniel
Cruz, Maria de Fátima Ferreira da
Resumen
In this work we investigated the frequency of polymorphism in exon II of the gene encoding most of the amino-terminal region of the serine rich antigen (SERA) in Plasmodium falciparum field samples. The blood samples were collected from P. falciparum infected individuals in three areas of the Brazilian Amazon. Two fragments have been characterized by polymerase chain reaction: one of 175 bp corresponding to the repeat region with 5 octamer units and one other of 199 bp related to the 6 repeat octamer units of SERA protein. The 199 bp fragment was the predominant one in all the studied areas. The higher frequency of this fragment has not been described before and could be explained by an immunological selection of the plasmodial population in the infected individuals under study. Since repeat motifs in the amino-terminal region of SERA contain epitopes recognized by parasite-inhibitor antibodies, data reported here suggest that the analysis of the polymorphism of P. falciparum isolates in different geographical areas is a preliminary stage before the final drawing of an universal vaccine against malaria can be reached.