Seeking universal malaria-vaccine targets

NEWS AND VIEWS

01 July 2026

Evolutionarily conserved targets have been identified that are shared across malaria-parasite species and their life stages and are recognized by the human immune system.

By

Denise L. Doolan

Denise L. Doolan is at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.

Carla Proietti

Carla Proietti is at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.

The quest to develop a malaria vaccine has been frustrated by a simple problem: researchers have limited knowledge about which parasite proteins the human immune system recognizes during infection. Most vaccine targets have therefore been chosen on the basis of indirect evidence or similarity to proteins from other microbes. Writing in Nature, Barbosa et al.1 address this knowledge gap. Studying the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax, the authors mapped the protein fragments (antigens) that are presented to immune cells during human infection. This revealed a previously hidden landscape of malaria targets that are associated with protective immune responses in humans, monkeys and mice. These targets are evolutionarily conserved across Plasmodium species and are expressed at various stages of the parasite life cycle.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01808-x

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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