Suppression of RANTES in children with Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Severe malarial anemia (MA) is the primary manifestation of severe malaria among children in areas of holoendemic Plasmodium falciparum transmission. Although overproduction of inflammatory-derived cytokines are implicated in the immunopathogenesis of severe MA, chemokines such as regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES, CCL5) are largely unexplored in childhood malaria. We found that RANTES is decreased during severe MA (p<0.01), and associated with suppression of erythropoiesis (p<0.05) and malaria-induced thrombocytopenia (p<0.05). These findings suggest that thrombocytopenia may be a source of reduced RANTES which may contribute, at least in part, to suppression of erythropoiesis in children with malarial anemia.
Were
Tom
T
Department of Pathology, School of Health Sciences, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
Hittner
J B
JB
Ouma
Collins
C
Otieno
Richard O
RO
Orago
Alloys S S
AS
Ong'echa
John M
JM
Vulule
John M
JM
Keller
Christopher C
CC
Perkins
Douglas J
DJ
D000818:Animals; D018946:Chemokine CCL5 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood
D018946:Chemokine CCL5