title: Common west African HLA antigens are associated with protection from severe malaria.
abstract: A large case-control study of malaria in West African children shows that a human leucocyte class I antigen (HLA-Bw53) and an HLA class II haplotype (DRB1*1302-DQB1*0501), common in West Africans but rare in other racial groups, are independently associated with protection from severe malaria. In this population they account for as great a reduction in disease incidence as the sickle-cell haemoglobin variant. These data support the hypothesis that the extraordinary polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex genes has evolved primarily through natural selection by infectious pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Allsopp
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowski
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Anstey
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Twumasi
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brewster
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: McMichael
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Greenwood
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005714:Gambia; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D008288:Malaria / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens