Abstract: Objective To screen and identify mimetic peptides of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocyte membrane surface protein 1 in order to explore anti-adhesive agent against cerebral malaria. Methods Phage-borne peptide KLYLIAEGSVAA was used as panning targets to select target binders in a disulfide-constrained heptapeptides library. Three rounds of biopanning were carried out and then ELISA and competitive ELISA were used to evaluate the binding character between phage-borne peptides and ICAM-1. The insert DNA sequences of positive clones were determined and their amino acid sequences were deduced. Results After three-round panning, 22 clones were randomly chosen from the third panning and analyzed. Three clones showed positive interaction with ICAM-1, and two of them possessed the amino acid sequence C-ITAVPVR-C, the other one was C-DIMGGYN-C. These peptides specifically inhibited the binding of 15.2 antibody to ICAM-1 detected by competitive ELISA. Conclusion Two kinds of mimetic peptides of PfEMP-1 have been obtained, which can bind with ICAM-1 specifically.

Key words: Plasmodium falciparum, Erythrocyte membrane surface protein 1, Phage-displayed random peptide library, Mimetic peptide