Soluble Serum Antigens of P. falciparum in Nigerians

Abstract

The incidence of malarial soluble serum antigens (MSSA). the heterogeneity of these antigens, as well as the malarial specificity of the antigen-antibody systems involved were studied in a Nigerian village population. Twenty-five (*40°^ of sera obtained from sixty-two children heavily infected with P. falciparum formed precipitin lines with some of the sera from 402 village adults known to bo immune to malaria. No precipitin line was obtained when the children's sera were each diffused against twenty-six adult sera obtained from persons that ha\ e neve*- been exposed to malaria. The MSS A were found to be negative for antiglobulins and tissue antigens. Simian MSS A obtained from Aotus monke y experimentally infected with P. falciparum formed a precipitin line of identity with a human MSS A when both were diffused in agar against an adult malarial immune serum. The incidence of antibodies to the MSS A vary from 0-5 to 6-0% of the Nigerian village adult immune sera.