Merozoite surface protein 8 (MSP‐8) of Plasmodium parasites plays an important role in erythrocyte invasion and is a potential malaria vaccine candidate.

In this study, virus‐like particles (VLPs) expressing MSP‐8 of Plasmodium berghei on the surface of influenza virus matrix protein 1 (M1) core protein were generated for vaccine efficacy assessment. Mice were intramuscularly (IM) immunized with MSP‐8 VLPs twice and challenge‐infected with P. berghei. We found that VLP vaccination elicited higher levels of P. berghei‐specific IgG antibody response in the sera, along with blood CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T‐cell response enhancement compared to the naïve control mice. CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ effector memory T‐cell and memory B‐cell responses in the spleen were found to be higher in VLP‐immunized mice compared to control mice. VLP vaccination significantly reduced inflammatory cytokine (IFN‐γ) response in the spleen and parasitemia levels in blood compared to naïve control mice.

These results indicate that MSP‐8 containing virus‐like particles could be a vaccine candidate for blood‐stage vaccine design.