Background: There 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.
Methods: Twelve 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.
Results: Genetic 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.
Conclusion: These 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.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-7-212 | DOI Listing |
Eur J Med Chem
January 2025
Department of Immunology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China. Electronic address:
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Genet
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology of the Chinese Ministry of Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Shanghai, 200025, People's Republic of China.
Drug resistance resulting from mutations in Plasmodium falciparum, that caused the failure of previously effective malaria drugs, has continued to threaten the global malaria elimination goal. This study describes the profiles of P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (Pfcrt) and P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExp Biol Med (Maywood)
January 2025
West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Malaria causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, disproportionately impacting sub-Saharan Africa. Disease phenotypes associated with infection can vary widely, from asymptomatic to life-threatening. To date, prevention efforts, particularly those related to vaccine development, have been hindered by an incomplete understanding of which factors impact host immune responses resulting in these divergent outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Parasitol
May 2024
Disease Control and Elimination (DCE), Medical Research Council The Gambia Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Fajara, Gambia.
Further understanding of the molecular mediators of alternative RBC invasion phenotypes in endemic malaria parasites will support malaria blood-stage vaccine or drug development. This study investigated the prevalence of sialic acid (SA)-dependent and SA-independent RBC invasion pathways in endemic parasites from Cameroon and compared the schizont stage transcriptomes in these two groups to uncover the wider repertoire of transcriptional variation associated with the use of alternative RBC invasion pathway phenotypes. A two-color flow cytometry-based invasion-inhibition assay against RBCs treated with neuraminidase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin and deep RNA sequencing of schizont stages harvested in the first replication cycle in culture were employed in this investigation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Pharm
January 2025
Department of Industrial and Molecular Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, 575 Stadium Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States.
Lumefantrine (LMF) is a low-solubility antimalarial drug that cures acute, uncomplicated malaria. It exerts its pharmacological effects against erythrocytic stages of spp. and prevents malaria pathogens from producing nucleic acid and protein, thereby eliminating the parasites.
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