Abstract
BackgroundThere have been many reports on the population genetic structures of Plasmodium falciparum from different endemic regions, but few studies have examined the characteristics of isolates from patients with different clinical outcomes. The population genetic structures of P. falciparum isolates from patients with either severe or uncomplicated malaria were examined.MethodsTwelve microsatellite DNA loci from P. falciparum were used to assess the population genetic structures of 50 isolates (i.e., 25 isolates from patients with severe malaria and 25 from patients with uncomplicated malaria) collected in the Thai-Myanmar border area between 2002 and 2005.ResultsGenetic diversity and effective population sizes were greater in the uncomplicated malaria group than in the severe malaria group. Evidence of genetic bottlenecks was not observed in either group. Strong linkage disequilibrium was observed in the uncomplicated malaria group. The groups demonstrated significant genetic differentiation (P < 0.05), and allele frequencies for 3 of the 12 microsatellite loci differed significantly between the two groups.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the genetic structure of P. falciparum populations in patients with severe malaria differs from that in patients with uncomplicated malaria. The microsatellite loci used in this study were presumably unrelated to antigenic features of the parasites, but, these findings suggest that some loci may influence the clinical outcome of malaria.
Highlights
In World Malaria Report 2005 Geneva, World Health Organization; 2005:1-3.2
Ariey et al found that certain alleles in the polymorphic microsatellite loci of clinical isolates from French Guyana were associated with disease severity [6]; Ferreira et al found no evidence to suggest that the parasite genotypes of the isolates from malaria patients in Vietnam were associated with disease severity [8]
Sample collection A total of 50 P. falciparum isolates were collected from patients who contracted malaria along the Thai-Myanmar border and who had been admitted to the Bangkok Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University between 2002 and 2005
Summary
In World Malaria Report 2005 Geneva, World Health Organization; 2005:1-3.2. Chen Q, Schlichtherle M, Wahlgren M: Molecular aspects of severe malaria. Ariey et al found that certain alleles in the polymorphic microsatellite loci of clinical isolates from French Guyana were associated with disease severity [6]; Ferreira et al found no evidence to suggest that the parasite genotypes of the isolates from malaria patients in Vietnam were associated with disease severity [8]. These results demonstrate the difficulties associated with evaluating the role of parasite genetic factors in malaria pathogenesis
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