Abstract
Malaria is one of the biggest known health threats in Africa. Erythrocytes infected with falciparum malaria adhere to a variety of host receptors, including CD36. Cerebral malaria (CM) is a major life-threatening complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection. The human protein CD36 is a major receptor for P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes and contributes to the pathology of P. falciparum malaria. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of the adhesion molecule CD36 in children with CM at Central Sudan. A case-control study included 70 children with cerebral malaria (CM) and 84 controls were enrolled in this study. The method was a mutational analysis for the polymorphism in the CD36-188 T > G using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP) where the distribution of CD36 to 188 T > G genotypes differed significantly between CM patients and controls and children carrying the mutant G allele were associated with eight-times increased relative risk for susceptibility to cerebral malaria (P-value = 0.005; odds ratio = 7.962; 95% CI = 1.571 to 29.903). Key words: Plasmodium falciparum, cerebral malaria, erythrocytes, Central Sudan.
Highlights
Malaria remains a major public health threat to more than 600 million Africans
The distribution of CD36-188 T > G genotypes differs significantly between Cerebral malaria (CM) patients and controls and those carrying the mutant G allele were associated with eight times increased relative risk for susceptibility to CM (Pvalue = 0.003; odds ratio = 7.636; 95% CI = 1.048 to 13.630) (Table 1)
In vitro studies indicate that sequestration of parasitized red blood corpuscles (PRBCs) in the microvessels is mediated by the attachment of knobs on PRBCs to receptors on the endothelial cell surface such as CD36, TSP and ICAM-1 (Aikawa et al, 1992)
Summary
Malaria remains a major public health threat to more than 600 million Africans. In sub-Saharan Africa, the disease distribution is closely linked with seasonal patterns of the climate and local environment (Grover-Kopec et al, 2006). According to World Health Organization (WHO) classification of malaria endemic countries, Sudan is categorized in group 4. Sudan represents more than 50% of the total estimated malaria cases in the group (WHO, 2002). In two camps in Khartoum state, Sudan, most of the recorded malaria cases were among children. Risk of malaria attack was significantly associated with tribe, language, education, water supply and food expenditure (Saeed and Ahmed, 2003)
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