The pathophysiology of malarial anaemia: where have all the red cells gone?
Malarial anaemia is an enormous public health problem in endemic areas and occurs predominantly in children in the first 3 years of life. Anaemia is due to both a great increase in clearance of uninfected cells and a failure of an adequate bone marrow response. Odhiambo, Stoute and colleagues show how the age distribution of malarial anaemia and the haemolysis of red blood cells may be linked by an age-dependent increase in the capacity of red blood cells to inactivate complement components absorbed or deposited directly on to the surface of the red blood cell. In this commentary, we discuss what has been established about the role of complement deposition on the surface of red blood cells in the pathology of malarial anaemia, how genetic polymorphisms of the complement control proteins influence the outcome of malaria infection and how the findings of Odhiambo, Stoute and colleagues and others shed light on the puzzling age distribution of different syndromes of severe malaria.
Kai
Oscar K
OK
Wellcome Trust/Kenya Medical Research Institute-Centre for Geographic Medicine Research Coast, Immunology Department, PO Box 230, Kilifi 80108, Kenya. okai@kilifi.kemri-wellcome.org
Roberts
David J
DJ
D000367:Age Factors; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D006461:Hemolysis; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008288:Malaria / Q000150:complications*
D003165:Complement System Proteins