ArticleCommunications biology2025
Nanobody-mediated targeting of Plasmodium falciparum PfPIMMS43 can block malaria transmission in mosquitoes.
Article in Communications biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Nanobodies in biomedicine: from molecular characteristics to fabrication and clinical translation.Military Medical Research · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The transition from ookinete to oocyst is a critical step in the Plasmodium falciparum lifecycle and an important target for malaria transmission-blocking strategies. PfPIMMS43, a surface protein of P. falciparum ookinetes and sporozoites, is critical for this transition and aids the parasite in evading mosquito immune responses. Previous studies demonstrated that polyclonal PfPIMMS43 antibodies reduced P. falciparum infection in Anopheles mosquitoes. Here, building on these findings, we have developed high-affinity single-domain VHH antibodies (nanobodies) derived from llama heavy-chain-only antibodies. We have shown that these nanobodies bind both recombinant and endogenous PfPIMMS43 produced by P. falciparum ookinetes in the mosquito midgut. Importantly, they significantly reduce infection intensity and prevalence of laboratory and field strains of P. falciparum in An. coluzzii and An. gambiae, respectively. Epitope mapping has revealed that the nanobodies target conserved regions in the second half of PfPIMMS43, with homology modelling confirming epitope accessibility. These findings establish PfPIMMS43 as a promising transmission-blocking target. To enhance malaria control and elimination efforts, we propose an innovative strategy in which genetically modified mosquitoes express PfPIMMS43-specific nanobodies in their midguts and spread this trait in wild mosquito populations via gene drive technology.
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