Die Rolle des zytosolischen Adapterproteins SKAP55 bei der Adhäsion und Migration von T-Zellen

• Applicant: Dr. Stefanie Kliche
• Subject Area: Immunology
• Term: from 2004 to 2008
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5436135

Polymorphic antigens that undergo clonal antigenic variation are expressed on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes. Two families of variant surface antigens are now known, namely the products of the var and the rif gene families, encoding the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP-1) and rifins, respectively. Evidence has accumulated to show that immune responses to PfEMP1 correlate with acquisition of immunity. While different PfEMP-1 molecules have been characterized in a very extensive manner both genotypically and phenotypically, there is still very little known about rifin proteins and their expression. Knowledge of the natural history of rifins is an indispensable part of understanding immunity to blood stage malaria. Several recent findings have indicated that anti-rifin antibodies may confer protection against malaria. In this study, we propose to further address the functional aspect of these responses using defined serum samples from a case-control study to investigate the profiles of IgG isotype antibodies to rifins as well as to monitor the responses from an ongoing longitudinal study. We will also seek to elucidate the biological function of these clonally variant proteins in the parasite.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Burkhart Schraven