The genotypes of GYPA and GYPB carrying the MNSs antigens are not associated with cerebral malaria

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum invades erythrocytes via several routes using different red blood cell receptors that include glycophorin A (GYPA) and glycophorin B (GYPB). GYPA has two codominant alleles, i.e., M and N, that correspond to the M and N antigens, which differ by two amino acids (S1L, G5E); the codominant alleles of GYPB, i.e., S and s, correspond to the S and s antigens, which differ by a single amino acid (T29M). If these antigens influence the efficiency of erythrocyte invasion by malaria parasites, the MNSs phenotype may be associated with the severity of malaria. To examine this, the GYPA and GYPB genotypes carrying the MNSs antigens were analyzed in 109 and 203 Thai patients with cerebral malaria and mild malaria, respectively. Neither the genotype nor allele frequencies at each locus were statistically different between the cerebral and mild malaria patients. Thus, we conclude that the MNSs antigens do not reveal the difference in susceptibility to cerebral malaria.