{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T03:45:34Z","timestamp":1789962334084,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,25]],"date-time":"2023-05-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1684972800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000060","name":"National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000060","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plospathogens.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS Pathog"],"abstract":"<jats:p>VAR2CSA is the <jats:italic>Plasmodium falciparum<\/jats:italic> variant surface antigen that mediates binding of infected erythrocytes to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) and their sequestration in intervillous spaces of the placenta, leading to placental malaria (PM). Relatively high polymorphism in VAR2CSA sequences has hindered development of a vaccine that induces broadly neutralizing immunity. Recent research has highlighted that a broadly reactive human monoclonal antibody, called PAM1.4, binds to multiple conserved residues of different subfragments of VAR2CSA, forming a conformational epitope. In this short perspective, we describe evidence that residues located in the interdomain-1 fragment of VAR2CSA within the PAM1.4 binding epitope might be critical to broad reactivity of the antibody. Future investigation into broadly reactive anti-VAR2CSA antibodies may be important for the following: (1) identification of similar conformation epitopes targeted by broadly neutralizing antibodies; and (2) understanding different immune evasion mechanisms used by placenta-binding parasites through VAR2CSA polymorphism in critical epitopes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1011370","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,25]],"date-time":"2023-05-25T17:21:45Z","timestamp":1685035305000},"page":"e1011370","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.ppat.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["A conformational epitope in placental malaria vaccine antigen VAR2CSA: What does it teach us?"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Justin Y. 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