Circulating ICAM-1 levels in falciparum malaria are high but unrelated to disease severity.
Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) mediates the binding of Plasmodium falciparum to vascular endothelium. In a case-control study of falciparum malaria in Gambian children, we have looked for evidence that a generalized increase in expression of ICAM-1 is associated with cerebral malaria. Plasma levels of circulating ICAM-1 (cICAM-1) were significantly higher in 246 children with acute malaria than in 156 children with non-malarial illnesses. cICAM-1 levels correlated with levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) and interferon gamma, supporting the view that these cytokines are responsible for a general upregulation of ICAM-1 expression in malaria. However, while it has been previously shown that TNF and IL-1 alpha levels were related to disease severity, this was not the case for cICAM-1. It may be that differences in the distribution of ICAM-1, rather than its total level of expression, are critical in determining the clinical outcome in malaria.
McGuire
W
W
Department of Paediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
Hill
A V
AV
Greenwood
B M
BM
Kwiatkowski
D
D
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003128:Coma / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000097:blood; D016779:Malaria, Cerebral / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis
D007375:Interleukin-1; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D007371:Interferon-gamma