Progress in the development of malaria vaccines

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium through the bite of female mosquitoes, posing a significant threat to global public health. Since 2000, humans have adopted various measures to prevent and control malaria, but due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of malaria cases has increased rather than decreased, making malaria vaccines one of the focal points for controlling the disease. The Plasmodium that infects humans mainly includes Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. The life cycle of Plasmodium includes the pre-erythrocytic stage, the blood stage, and the mosquito stage. Two vaccines, RTS,S/AS01E, and R21/Matrix-M, which have been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization to target the pre-erythrocytic proteins of Plasmodium falciparum. The clinical trial data show reduction in malaria mortality rates among children, and mass vaccination is currently underway in Africa. However, no malaria vaccines targeting other stages or antigens have yet entered phase III clinical trials. This article describes the hazards and prevention of malaria, summarizes malaria vaccines designed in recent years for the three stages of the Plasmodium life cycle: the pre-erythrocytic stage, the blood stage, and the mosquito stage, and demonstrates the challenges and ideas in the field of malaria vaccine research and development, aiming to provide some reference for the development of novel malaria vaccines.