Prevalence and boosting of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum glycosylphosphatidylinositols and evaluation of their association with protection from mild and severe clinical malaria.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs), the anchor molecules of some membrane proteins of Plasmodium species, have been implicated in the induction of immunopathology during malaria infections. Hence, neutralization of GPIs by antibodies may reduce the severity of clinical attacks of malaria. To test this hypothesis, we have assessed the levels of anti-GPI antibodies in plasma from children and adults living in areas of seasonal malaria transmission in The Gambia.