ABSTRACT
Pseudopeptide chemistry is gaining ground in the field of synthetic vaccine development. We have previously demonstrated the potential scope of introducing reduced amide peptide bond isosters in a site-directed design for obtaining structurally modified probes able to induce malaria infection-neutralizing antibodies derived from the MSP-1 antigen. This work reports the functional properties of polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies induced by site-directed designed MSP-2 N-terminus pseudopeptides and their capacity for antibody isotype switching in in vitro immunization. Structural properties of the native peptide and its pseudopeptide analogs are discussed within the context of these novel pseudopeptides' induced monoclonal antibody functional and physical-chemical properties.
