Uso de modelos de primatas neotropicais para pesquisa em malária: um histórico dos 25 anos de colaboração entre o Laboratório de Pesquisa em Malária (IOC, Fiocruz) e o Centro Nacional de Primatas (IEC, SVS)

Malaria remains a significant public health problem and, responsible for 409,000 deaths annually, mainly due to infection by Plasmodium falciparum. Thus, the development of an effective vaccine has been a research priority to address the problem. There is no licensed vaccine, and although more than 30 antigens have been identified as candidates, none of them has yet generated a solid prospect that an effective vaccine may be available in the coming years. Therefore, it is essential to search for new, more immunogenic, more effective and safer vaccine candidates. The neotropical, non-human primates (NHP) of the genera Saimiri and Aotus are recommended as experimental models for the study of human malaria because these animals can be infected with the Plasmodium that infect humans. The Laboratory of Malaria Research (LabMal, Fiocruz) studies the mechanisms of defense and disease in malaria and uses the Saimiri and Aotus experimental models for preclinical evaluation of antimalarial vaccine candidates and for conducting studies of immunity acquisition mechanisms and physiopathogenesis of malaria. To carry out the studies, LabMal established a partnership with the Centro Nacional de Primatas (CENP) of the Instituto Evandro Chagas, which resulted in the expansion of Saimiri sciureus colonies, placing CENP among the few institutions in the world that have this resource for malaria research. The present paper is a retrospective of the results obtained during 25 years of partnership between LabMal and CENP in the use of Saimiri and Aotus as study models for research and development of an antimalarial vaccine.