Tomatine Adjuvantation of Protective Immunity to a Major Pre-erythrocytic Vaccine Candidate of Malaria is Mediated via CD8+ T Cell Release of IFN-γ

Abstract EN

The glycoalkaloid tomatine, derived from the wild tomato, can act as a powerful adjuvant to elicit an antigen-specific cell-mediated immune response to the circumsporozoite (CS) protein, a major pre-erythrocytic stage malaria vaccine candidate antigen.

Using a defined MHC-class-I-restricted CS epitope in a Plasmodium berghei rodent model, antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity and IFN-γ secretion ex vivo were both significantly enhanced compared to responses detected from similarly stimulated splenocytes from naive and tomatine-saline-immunized mice.

Further, through lymphocyte depletion it is demonstrated that antigen-specific IFN-γ is produced exclusively by the CD8+ T cell subset.

We conclude that the processing of the P.

berghei CS peptide as an exogenous antigen and its presentation via MHC class I molecules to CD8+ T cells leads to an immune response that is an in vitro correlate of protection against pre-erythrocytic malaria.

Further characterization of tomatine as an adjuvant in malaria vaccine development is indicated.