Killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum in The Gambia.

ABSTRACT: The relevance of innate immune responses to Plasmodium falciparum infection, in particular the central role of natural killer (NK) cell-derived interferon gamma (IFN-γ), is becoming increasingly recognised. Recently, it has been shown that IFN-γ production in response to P. falciparum antigens is in part regulated by killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes, and a study from malaria-exposed Melanesians suggested an association between KIR genotypes and susceptibility to infection. This prompted us to determine and compare the frequencies of 15 KIR genes in Gambian children presenting with either severe malaria (n = 133) or uncomplicated malaria (n = 188) and in cord-blood population control samples (n = 314) collected from the same area. While no significant differences were ob

SUBMITTER: Yindom LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3320664 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature