Protective Immunity Induced by Immunization with Baculovirus, Virus-like Particle, and Vaccinia Virus Expressing the AMA1 of Plasmodium berghei .

Heterologous prime-boost immunization regimens using various vaccine platforms demonstrated promising results against infectious diseases. Here, mice were sequentially immunized with the recombinant baculovirus (rBV), virus-like particle (VLP), and recombinant vaccinia virus (rVV) vaccines expressing the Plasmodium berghei apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) for protective efficacy evaluation. The rBV_V_rVV heterologous immunization regimen elicited high levels of parasite-specific IgG, IgG2a, and IgG2b antibody responses in sera. Upon P. berghei challenge infection, proliferations of germinal center B cells in the inguinal lymph nodes, as well as blood CD4 + and CD8 + T cells were induced. More importantly, rBV_V_rVV immunization significantly diminished the parasitemia and prevented drastic bodyweight loss in mice post-challenge infection with P. berghei . Our findings revealed that immunization with rBV, VLP, and rVV expressing the AMA1 conferred protection against P. berghei infection, providing evidence for the potential implementation of this strategy.