Plasmodium: Mammalian codon optimization of malaria plasmid DNA vaccines enhances antibody responses but not T cell responses nor protective immunity

We have evaluated the effect of mammalian codon optimization on the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of plasmid DNA vaccines encoding pre-erythrocytic stage Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium yoelii antigens in mice. Codon optimization significantly enhanced in vitro expression and in vivo antibody responses for P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) and P. yoelii hepatocyte erythrocyte protein 17 kDa (PyHEP17) but not for P. yoelii circumsporozoite protein (PyCSP). Unexpectedly, more robust CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses as measured by IFN-γ ELIspot, lymphoproliferation, and cytotoxic T lymphocyte assays were noted with native as compared with codon optimization constructs. Codon optimization also failed to enhance CD8+ T cell dependent protection against P. yoelii sporozoite challenge as measured by liver-stage parasite burden. These data demonstrate that the effect of mammalian codon optimization is antigen-dependent and may not be beneficial for vaccines designed to induce T cell dependent protective immunity in this malaria model.