Anti-Anopheles darlingi saliva antibodies as marker of Plasmodium vivax infection and clinical immunity in the Brazilian Amazon

Adult volunteers from communities in the Rond？nia State, Brazil, were screened in order to assess the presence of P. vivax infection by light microscopy and nested PCR. Non-infected volunteers and individuals with symptomatic or symptomless infection were randomly selected and plasma collected. An. darlingi salivary gland sonicates (SGS) were prepared and used to measure anti-saliva antibody levels. Plasma interleukin (IL)-10 and interferon (IFN)-γ levels were also estimated and correlated to anti-SGS levels.Individuals infected with P. vivax presented higher levels of anti-SGS than non-infected individuals and antibody levels could discriminate infection. Furthermore, anti-saliva antibody measurement was also useful to distinguish asymptomatic infection from non-infection, with a high likelihood ratio. Interestingly, individuals with asymptomatic parasitaemia presented higher titers of anti-SGS and lower IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio than symptomatic ones. In P. vivax-infected asymptomatic individuals, the IFN-γ/IL-10 ratio was inversely correlated to anti-SGS titers, although not for while in symptomatic volunteers.The estimation of anti-An. darlingi antibody levels can indicate the probable P. vivax infection status and also could serve as a marker of disease severity in this region of Brazilian Amazon.Malaria continues to be one of the most serious public health problems worldwide, exacting a huge impact on human wellbeing, mainly in tropical and subtropical countries. A better understanding of the interactions between the host, the vector and the parasite could be valuable to indicate future strategies. In endemic regions, residents are frequently bitten by both uninfected and infected mosquitoes. There is also a progressive acquisition of immunity, leading to a decreased number of malaria clinical attacks related to increasing age and time residing in the endemic area [1,2]. Within the Brazilian Amazon, and mainly in riverine communities, the prevalence of asymptomatic ma