Johns Hopkins University

US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Nirbhay Kumar

Evelina Angov

Andrew B Feldman

Peter F Scholl

Plamen A Demirev

David J Sullivan

Darin Kongkasuriyachai

The present invention features immunogenic compositions based on pre-fertilization or post-fertilization antigens expressed in the circulating gametocytes in the peripheral blood of infected persons or on the malaria parastes' stages of development in the mosquito midgut including extracellular male and female gametes, fertilized zygote and ookinete. The invention also features methods to prevent the transmission of malaria using the immunogenic compositions of the invention.

Malaria vaccine

Mass spectrometric techniques are provided for detecting the presence of parasites that accumulate unbound heme in red blood cells (including malaria parasites), based on the discovery that unbound heme can be detected and quantified using mass spectrometry. In one aspect of the invention, the method includes the steps of: obtaining a blood sample from the animal; preparing a test sample on a support from the blood sample, and inserting the support into a mass spectrometer for analysis. Next one obtains a mass spectrum of the test sample and determines whether the mass spectrum contains a mass/charge signature of unbound heme. If it is determined that the mass spectrum of the test sample shows the mass/charge signature of unbound heme, the animal is diagnosed as infected with malaria parasites.

Detection of malaria parasites by mass spectrometry

Monoclonal antibodies which recognize a continuous epitope in the sexual stages of P. falciparum. The epitope so recognized has the following amino acid sequence: ##STR1## Malaria vaccines based on this epitope are also disclosed.

Monoclonal antibodies to a continuous and cross-reactive epitope and an

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Potomac, MD, United States of America

Nirbhay Kumar