TLR9 polymorphisms are associated with altered IFN-gamma levels in children with cerebral malaria.

Document Type

Article

Department

Paediatrics and Child Health (East Africa)

Abstract

Toll-like receptor (TLR) polymorphisms have been associated with disease severity in malaria infection, but mechanisms for this association have not been characterized. The TLR2, 4, and 9 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) frequencies and serum interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels were assessed in Ugandan children with cerebral malaria (CM, N = 65) and uncomplicated malaria (UM, N = 52). The TLR9 C allele at −1237 and G allele at 1174 were strongly linked, and among children with CM, those with the C allele at −1237 or the G allele at 1174 had higher levels of IFN-γ than those without these alleles (P = 0.03 and 0.008, respectively). The TLR9 SNPs were not associated with altered IFN-γ levels in children with UM or altered TNF-α levels in either group. We present the first human data that TLR SNPs are associated with altered cytokine production in parasitic infection.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Publication (Name of Journal)

The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

DOI

10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0467

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS