The antibody response in BALB/c mice to the Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite repetitive epitope covalently coupled to synthetic lipopeptide adjuvant.

The repetitive epitope of Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (Asn-Ala-Asn-Pro)3 [(NANP)3] was coupled to tripalmitoyl-S-glyceryl-cysteine (P3C) and tripalmitoyl-S-glyceryl-cysteinyl-serine (P3CS). The lipopeptide P3CS is a potent B-cell and macrophage activator. The resulting immunogenic lipopeptides were used for immunization of the low responder mouse strain BALB/c. These low molecular weight conjugates induced specific anti-(NANP)3 IgG and IgM levels without any carrier proteins or admixed adjuvants after a single administration.