Haptoglobin 1-1 is associated with susceptibility to severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria

✍ Scribed by Isaac K.E. Quaye; Fred A. Ekuban; Bamenla Q. Goka; Victoria Adabayeri; Jørgen A.L. Kurtzhals; Ben Gyan; Nii-Ayi Ankrah; Lars Hviid; Bartholomew D. Akanmori

• Book ID: 104165953
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 636 KB
• Volume: 94
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0035-9203
• DOI: 10.1016/s0035-9203(00)90281-5

✦ Synopsis

The haptoglobin (Hp) phenotypes were determined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis in plasma samples obtained in 1997 from 113 Plasmodium falciparum malaria patients (aged 1 -12 years) with strictly defined cerebral malaria, severe malarial anaemia, or uncomplicated malaria and 42 age-matched healthy controls from the same area (coastal Ghana). Hp 1 -1 was significantly more prevalent among the patients (43%) than among healthy controls (7*1%), whereas Hp2-1 and Hp2-2 were underrepresented among the patients (11% and 2%, respectively) compared to the control donors (33% and 14%, respectively). No significant difference in frequency of HpO was observed between patients and controls. Among the malaria patients, the Hpl-1 phenotype was significantly more prevalent among patients with the complications of cerebral malaria and severe anaemia compared to patients with uncomplicated disease, whereas the reverse was seen with respect to Hp2-1 and Hp2-2. Our data suggest that the Hpl-I phenotype is associated with susceptibility to I? falciparum malaria in general, and to the development of severe disease in particular.