IFN-γ and IL-4 correlate with protection induced by an attenuated malaria vaccine.

Controlled human malaria infections after immunization via mosquito bites with radiation attenuated Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites are necessary tools to decipher immune signatures of malaria protection. The phenotype of circulating mononuclear innate cells and the PBMC response to in vitro stimulation unraveled correlates of protection from baseline immune response to sporozoite stimulation (IFN-ƴ secretion and HLA-DRhigh expression) to vaccine-induced immune factors (IL-4 secretion and CD57- γδ T cell frequency).