Nanobodies against Plasmodium vivax AMA1 block parasite invasion

PvAMA1 nanobodies identified by phage display bind high-affinity epitopes on Plasmodium vivax and inhibit red blood cell invasion, including in late-stage schizonts.

• Why it matters: Reticulocyte invasion by P. vivax is essential for replication, and PvAMA1 is a key invasion protein linked to PvRON2 at the tight junction.
• What they did: The team used phage display with Sanger sequencing, next-generation sequencing, and structure prediction to select nanobodies, then tested invasion inhibition and solved crystal structures for two inhibitory nanobody–PvAMA1 complexes.
• The result: Inhibitory nanobodies recognize conformational sites outside the PvRON2 hydrophobic groove, bind novel neutralizing epitopes, and two additional nanobodies also inhibit Plasmodium falciparum invasion.

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