Zeitschrift für Molekulare Pharmazeutik und organische Prozessforschung

Abstrakt

Association between Agglutination, Severe Malaria, and Host Age in Young Individuals

Sunil K Vooturi

The diversity of antigens on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells is likely a crucial target
for naturally acquired immunity against malaria. In response to natural infections, antibodies that cause agglutination
are triggered specifically by the variant surface antigen (VSA) expressions of the infecting parasites. Previous
examinations involving diverse parasite isolates exposed to heterologous plasma from Kenyan children revealed
a highly variable proportion of plasma inducing agglutination, indicating the presence of both rare and common
variants. In this context, the agglutination factor (AF) of 115 isolates from Kenyan children was assessed. The
findings demonstrated a notable elevation in AF for isolates causing severe malaria compared to those causing mild
malaria. Additionally, AF substantially decreased as the age of the infected child increased. We propose that parasites
responsible for severe illness tend to express a specific subset of VSA variants that are particularly associated with
infections in children with limited immunity.