Figure 3

Localization of functional epitopes of PfCP-2.9 within the three-dimensional structure of AMA-1 (III) and MSP1-19. The epitopes of PfCP-2.9 were plotted onto the published solution structure of AMA-1 (III) [PDB: 1HN6] [20] and PfMSP1-19 [PDB: 1cej] [18], separately. The N- and C-terminal ends are colored in red and green, respectively. (A) The substitutions affecting the binding of an inhibitory mAb, mAb7G, lie within the C-terminal unstructured region of AMA-1 (III), in close proximity to each other in conformation. (B) The substitutions affecting the binding of non-inhibitory mAb6G and mAbP5-W12 cluster on one of the two sides of the disc-like-shape molecule of PfMSP1-19; while the amino acids involved in the epitope of blocking mAb1E1 are on the same side of the molecule, as reported by Uthaipibull et al. [13]. Substitution of Asn¹⁵ → Arg affected the global folding of PfCP-2.9 and is colored in yellow. The figure was created using the PyMOL software [27].