Interleukin-10 responses to liver-stage antigen 1 predict human resistanceto Plasmodium falciparum

The design of an effective vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite of humans, requires a careful definition of the epi topes and the immune responses involved in protection. Liver-stage antigen 1 (LSA- 1) is specifically expressed during the hepatic stage of P. falcipa rum and elicits cellular and humoral immune responses in naturally exposed individuals. We report here that interleukin-10 (IL-10) production in respo nse to LSA-1 predicts resistance to P. falciparum after eradication therapy . Resistance was not related to gamma interferon or tumor necrosis factor a lpha production. This is the first report that human IL-10 responses are as sociated with resistance after eradication therapy, and our findings suppor t the inclusion of LSA-1 in a vaccine against malaria.