Asawa, R. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Comprehensive characterization of Plasmodium vivax antigens using a high-density peptide array

Plasmodium vivax is the second most prevalent Plasmodium species, with 2.5 billion people at risk of infection worldwide and around 10 million cases of clinical vivax malaria every year. Despite the clinical importance of this pathogen, very little is known about the P. vivax proteins recognized by the host immune system, which hinders our ability to select vaccine candidates or develop efficient serological markers. To comprehensively characterize immunogenic P. vivax proteins, we designed a high-density peptide array containing 4.2 million peptides covering the entire protein sequence of all P. vivax genes and analyzed antibody responses of infected and malaria-naive individuals. We identified a total of 283 proteins that are commonly immunogenic in symptomatic individuals. These proteins included most proteins known to be involved in erythrocyte invasion, a putative new invasion protein, several nucleoporins, and many uncharacterized proteins that should be further investigated for their roles during blood-stage infections. These analyses also revealed a unique pattern of antibody response against PIR proteins in asymptomatic individuals, that could be associated with protection against clinical vivax malaria. Overall, these data provide an agnostic and comprehensive perspective on immunogenic P. vivax proteins and constitute an important resource for the malaria community to develop new tools for better detecting and eliminating this important human pathogen.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Keeping it clean: the cell culture quality control experience at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

Quality control monitoring of cell lines utilized in biomedical research is of critical importance, and is critical for reproducibility of data. Two key pitfalls in tissue culture are 1) cell line authenticity, and 2) mycoplasma contamination. As a collaborative research institute, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences receives cell lines from a range of commercial and academic sources, that are adapted for high-throughput screening. Here, we describe the implementation of a routine NCATS-wide mycoplasma testing and short-tandem repeat (STR) testing for cell lines. Initial testing identified a >10% mycoplasma contamination rate, but the implementation of clearly defined protocols that included immediate destruction of contaminated cell lines wherever possible has led to a much-reduced mycoplasma contamination rate, and data for >2,000 cell line samples tested over 3 years, and case studies are provided. STR testing of 170 cell lines with established STR profiles revealed only 5 mis-identified cell lines received from external labs. The data collected over the three years since implementation of this systematic testing demonstrates the importance of continual vigilance for rapid identification of problem cell lines, for ensuring reproducible data in translational science research.

cell biology↗