ANTIGENIC DIVERSITY AND MHC GENETICS IN SPOROZOITE IMMUNITY

A great deal of effort is directed towards developing a sporozoite vac cine. In the last decade, target antigens have been identified and clo ned, and a number of vaccine trials undertaken in both humans and labo ratory animals. One of the problems facing us is the lack of widesprea d immunogenicity of vaccine candidates. This relates, at least in part , to genetic factors in the vaccinee. Genes within the major histocomp atibility complex (MHC) which restrict some sporozoite-specific respon ses have been identified. Antigenic diversity also contributes to the difficulty of developing a successful vaccine. This brief report provi des some background information for these topics.