title: Neutrophil alterations in pregnancy-associated malaria and induction of neutrophil chemotaxis by Plasmodium falciparum.
abstract: Pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) is a severe form of the disease caused by sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (iRBCs) in the developing placenta. Pathogenesis of PAM is partially based on immunopathology, with frequent monocyte infiltration into the placenta. Neutrophils are abundant blood cells that are essential for immune defence but may also cause inflammatory pathology. Their role in PAM remains unclear. We analysed neutrophil alterations in the context of PAM to better understand their contribution to disease development. Pregnant women exposed to Plasmodium falciparum had decreased numbers of circulating neutrophils. Placental-like BeWo cells stimulated with malaria parasites produced the neutrophil chemoattractant IL-8 and recruited neutrophils in a trans-well assay. Finally, immunostaining of a PAM placenta confirmed neutrophil accumulation in the intervillous space. Our data indicate neutrophils may play a role in placental malaria and should be more closely examined as an etiological agent in the pathophysiology of disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boström
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Centre for Medical Parasitology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmiegelow
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular Microbiology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Abu Abed
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga, Tanzania.
authors.forename: D T R
authors.initials: DTR
authors.lastname: Minja
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Medical Research, Tanga, Tanzania.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lusingu
authors.affiliation: Microscopy Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brinkmann
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen and German Center for Infection Research, partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Honkpehedji
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen and German Center for Infection Research, partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.|Département de Bactério-Virologie, Université des Sciences de la Santé, Libreville, Gabon.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Loembe
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen and German Center for Infection Research, partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Adegnika
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL), Lambaréné, Gabon.|Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen and German Center for Infection Research, partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mordmüller
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Troye-Blomberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular Microbiology, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8518-8393
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Amulic
mesh_terms: D002633:Chemotaxis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010920:Placenta / Q000276:immunology; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000276:immunology*; D013636:Tanzania; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 
  Plasmodium falciparum
  ; IL-8; neutrophils; placenta; pregnancy