Evidence for the multistage malaria vaccine gamble
Figure 1. Overview of Kirkley et al. P. falciparum sporozoites, transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito to Fah/Rag2/Il2rg uhman heaptocyte engrafted mice (FRGHuHep) mice, migrate to the liver and invade engrafted human hepatocytes.
New vaccines to reduce disease and mortality caused by Plasmodium falciparum malaria are urgently needed. Most vaccines target a single life-cycle stage and confer modest protection. Kirtley et al. test whether multistage immunity can improve protection and provide some of the first evidence that ‘multistage’ vaccines should be pursued.
Chester J Joyner, Amadis R Vivas, Wayne T Cheng. Trends Parasitol. 2026 Aug 10:S1471-4922(26)00211-4. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2026.07.014.