Premium
Increased levels of interleukin‐12 in Plasmodium falciparum malaria: correlation with the severity of disease
Author(s) -
Malaguarnera Lucia,
Imbesi Rosa Maria,
Pignatelli Salvatore,
Simporè Jacques,
Malaguarnera Mariano,
Musumeci Salvatore
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3024.2002.00478.x
Subject(s) - malaria , immunology , plasmodium falciparum , immune system , biology , proinflammatory cytokine , disease , cytokine , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , immunity , interleukin , innate immune system , inflammation , medicine , biochemistry , in vitro
Summary Interleukin (IL)‐12, produced by mononuclear phagocytes, activates the T‐helper 1 (Th1) cells and helps, as a mediator, the innate immune response to intracellular microbes. In Plasmodium falciparum infection, this proinflammatory cytokine has immunoregulatory functions with effects on the immune response to the blood stage of disease, but also induces protection and reduces malarial anaemia. In this study, the levels of IL‐12 were determined in 73 African children, aged 2–144 months (median 19·5 months), who had severe or mild P. falciparum malaria. IL‐12 was determined using the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The levels of IL‐12 were found to be significantly elevated (21·6 ± 18·3 pg/ml) in patients who suffered less severely from the disease. In contrast, the levels of IL‐12 were found to be lower (13·1 ± 7·11 pg/ml) in patients who suffered more severely from the disease.