Despite decades of effort to develop an effective vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum, malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases in modern times, claiming about 608,000 lives in 2022. To discover new vaccine targets, we used our whole proteome differential screening method27 to identify parasite genes that encode parasite proteins that are uniquely recognized by antibodies expressed by resistant children, but not recognized by antibodies expressed by susceptible children. We identified PfGBP130, a 130 kDa protein expressed on the surface of merozoites. To determine if antibodies to PfGBP130 inhibited parasite growth, we immunized BALB/cJ mice with lipid-encapsulated mRNA encoding PfGBP130. In in vitro growth inhibition assays, we determined that polyclonal anti-PfGBP130 antibodies inhibited Plasmodium falciparum growth by 86%. Thus, PfGBP130 is a potential vaccine target for future malaria vaccine development.
