IgG1 and IgG4 antibody responses to the Anopheles gambiae salivary protein gSG6 in the sympatric ethnic groups Mossi and Fulani in a malaria hyperhendemic area of Burkina Faso

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 23;9(4):e96130. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096130. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Human antibody response to the Anopheles gambiae salivary protein gSG6 has recently emerged as a potentially useful tool for malaria epidemiological studies and for the evaluation of vector control interventions. However, the current understanding of the host immune response to mosquito salivary proteins and of the possible crosstalk with early response to Plasmodium parasites is still very limited. We report here the analysis of IgG1 and IgG4 subclasses among anti-gSG6 IgG responders belonging to Mossi and Fulani from Burkina Faso, two ethnic groups which are known for their differential humoral response to parasite antigens and for their different susceptibility to malaria. The IgG1 antibody response against the gSG6 protein was comparable in the two groups. On the contrary, IgG4 titers were significantly higher in the Fulani where, in addition, anti-gSG6 IgG4 antibodies appeared in younger children and the ratio IgG4/IgG1 stayed relatively stable throughout adulthood. Both gSG6-specific IgG1 and IgG4 antibodies showed a tendency to decrease with age whereas, as expected, the IgG response to the Plasmodium circumsporozoite protein (CSP) exhibited an opposite trend in the same individuals. These observations are in line with the idea that the An. gambiae gSG6 salivary protein induces immune tolerance, especially after intense and prolonged exposure as is the case for the area under study, suggesting that gSG6 may trigger in exposed individuals a Th2-oriented immune response.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Anopheles / immunology*
  • Black People / ethnology*
  • Burkina Faso / ethnology
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Immune Tolerance
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood*
  • Insect Proteins / immunology*
  • Malaria, Falciparum / ethnology
  • Malaria, Falciparum / immunology*
  • Protozoan Proteins / immunology
  • Salivary Proteins and Peptides / immunology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Insect Proteins
  • Protozoan Proteins
  • Salivary Proteins and Peptides

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the European Union funded grants INFRAVEC (228421) and EVIMalaR (242095) and partly by funds from Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (PRIN 2010-2011, SKINFLAM, 2010C2LKKJ_004). RR was supported by the Infravec project. CR was partly supported by a short term fellowship of Istituto Pasteur- Fondazione Cenci-Bolognetti (Sapienza University, Rome). FL was partly supported by the Skinflam project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.