Sera from donors exposed to malaria were tested for their ability
to
block the transmission of isolates from Cameroonian
Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriers. Sera were selected
from
amongst Cameroonian and Gambian donors who had
positive antibody reactivity against the surface of activated gametes and
against
epitopes of Pfs 48/45 (a potential
transmission-blocking vaccine candidate antigen). Aliquots of washed blood
from gametocyte carriers were resuspended
in test and control sera and fed to An. gambiae mosquitoes via
a
membrane feeder. Comparisons of the prevalence and
intensity of infections in dissected mosquitoes showed variations in the
ability of sera to block the transmission of the
different isolates. Sera were identified that had little or no blocking
effect on the transmission of isolates unless the isolate
was poorly infectious. Some sera completely blocked the transmission of
some isolates whilst having little or no effect on
others. The observed variation in transmission-modulating activity may
have implications for the development of a transmission-blocking vaccine.