ArticleNature microbiology2021
Structural basis for placental malaria mediated by Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety and efficacy of PfSPZ Vaccine against malaria in healthy adults and women anticipating pregnancy in Mali: two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 and 2 trials.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2024Trial
- Targeting protein-protein interactions in Plasmodium: from asexual replication to sexual development.Parasites & vectors · 2026Review
- TEpiNom: A computational framework integrating population data to prioritize Plasmodium falciparum T cell epitopes.Vaccine · 2026Article
- Coarse-Grained Martini 3 Model of Chondroitin Sulfate A.Journal of chemical theory and computation · 2026Article
- Beyond VAR2CSA: redefining the antigenic landscape of placental malaria vaccines.Open research Africa · 2026Review
- Immunogenicity and gene polymorphism analysis of Plasmodium ovale wallikeri glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored micronemal antigen (GAMA).Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Machine learning framework to extract physicochemical features of B-cell epitopes recognized by a cross-reactive antibody.NPJ systems biology and applications · 2025Article
- Malaria: past, present, and future.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2025Review
- Fc-Afucosylation of VAR2CSA-Specific Immunoglobulin G and Clinical Immunity to Placental Plasmodium falciparum Malaria.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Multi-cancer detection of circulating tumor cells by targeting oncofetal chondroitin sulfate.NPJ precision oncology · 2025Article
- Animal Models of Malaria-Associated Acute Kidney Injury.Seminars in nephrology · 2025Review
- Identification ofFrontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Malaria vaccines: a new era of prevention and control.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2024Review
- Plasma ofCS-modified CD44 predicts the survival of patients with lung cancer.Cancer science · 2024Observational
- Tumor-agnostic cancer therapy using antibodies targeting oncofetal chondroitin sulfate.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Structure-guided design of VAR2CSA-based immunogens and a cocktail strategy for a placental malaria vaccine.PLoS pathogens · 2024Article
- Crystal structures of human immune protein FIBCD1 suggest an extended binding site compatible with recognition of pathogen-associated carbohydrate motifs.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2024Article
- PfEMP1 and var genes - Still of key importance in Plasmodium falciparum malaria pathogenesis and immunity.Advances in parasitology · 2024Review
- Mechanical forces control the valency of the malaria adhesin VAR2CSA by exposing cryptic glycan binding sites.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Malaria Vaccines: Progress to Date.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA binds to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) on the surface of the syncytiotrophoblast during placental malaria. This interaction facilitates placental sequestration of malaria parasites resulting in severe health outcomes for both the mother and her offspring. Furthermore, CSA is presented by diverse cancer cells and specific targeting of cells by VAR2CSA may become a viable approach for cancer treatment. In the present study, we determined the cryo-electron microscopy structures of the full-length ectodomain of VAR2CSA from P. falciparum strain NF54 in complex with CSA, and VAR2CSA from a second P. falciparum strain FCR3. The architecture of VAR2CSA is composed of a stable core flanked by a flexible arm. CSA traverses the core domain by binding within two channels and CSA binding does not induce major conformational changes in VAR2CSA. The CSA-binding elements are conserved across VAR2CSA variants and are flanked by polymorphic segments, suggesting immune selection outside the CSA-binding sites. This work provides paths for developing interventions against placental malaria and cancer.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.