Temporal distribution of ITN use, <i>P</i>. <i>falciparum</i> infection and malaria cases among participants from south western Cameroon.

<p>Temporal distribution of ITN use, <i>P</i>. <i>falciparum</i> infection and malaria cases among participants from south western Cameroon.</p

Reported ownership, quality and source of ITN of participants (n = 800) who started using bednets before and after the free distribution campaign.

<p>Reported ownership, quality and source of ITN of participants (n = 800) who started using bednets before and after the free distribution campaign.</p

Map of the study area.

<p>Localities on the slope of Mt. Cameroon included in the survey are indicated by blue triangles.</p

Association of Cytokine and Toll-Like Receptor Gene Polymorphisms with Severe Malaria in Three Regions of Cameroon

<div><p><i>P. falciparum</i> malaria is one of the most widespread and deadliest infectious diseases in children under five years in endemic areas. The disease has been a strong force for evolutionary selection in the human genome, and uncovering the critical human genetic factors that confer resistance to the disease would provide clues to the molecular basis of protective immunity that would be invaluable for vaccine development. We investigated the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on malaria pathology in a case- control study of 1862 individuals from two major ethnic groups in three regions with intense perennial <i>P. falciparum</i> transmission in Cameroon. Twenty nine polymorphisms in cytokine and toll-like receptor (TLR) genes as well as the sickle cell trait (HbS) were assayed on the Sequenom iPLEX platform. Our results confirm the known protective effect of HbS against severe malaria and also reveal a protective effect of SNPs in interleukin-10 (IL10) cerebral malaria and hyperpyrexia. Furthermore, <i>IL17RE</i> rs708567 GA and <i>hHbS</i> rs334 AT individuals were associated with protection from uncomplicated malaria and anaemia respectively in this study. Meanwhile, individuals with the hHbS rs334 TT, <i>IL10</i> rs3024500 AA, and <i>IL17RD</i> rs6780995 GA genotypes were more susceptible to severe malarial anaemia, cerebral malaria, and hyperpyrexia respectively. Taken together, our results suggest that polymorphisms in some immune response genes may have important implications for the susceptibility to severe malaria in Cameroonians. Moreover using uncomplicated malaria may allow us to identify novel pathways in the early development of the disease.</p> </div

Association between human cytokine genetic polymorphisms and plasma cytokine levels.

<p>Plasma cytokine levels measured by ELISA were compared across human IL10 and <i>TNF</i> SNP genotypes of study participants. Of the three polymorphisms assayed for each cytokine, only the AA and TT genotypes of IL10 rs1800890 had lower plasma IL10 levels compared to their AT counterparts.</p