Institution: | a Department of Medical Zoology, Saitama Medical School, Moroyrma, Iruma, Saitama 350-0495, Japan b Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand c Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand d Department of Tissue Physiology, Division of Adult Disease, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan e Research Institute of Medical Science, Tokai University, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan |
Abstract: | Adhesion molecules on endothelial cells are known to be important ligands for malaria infected red blood cells (PRBC) Mol Biochem Parasitol, 76, (1996) 1], and may be involved in the pathogenic process of cerebral malaria (CM) which is the most serious complication of falciparum malaria, through enhancing micro embolism or sequestration in the capillaries of the brain. PECAM-1/CD31 is one of these candidate ligands and is coded by a polymorphic gene. Two hundred and ten Thai malaria patients (43 cerebral, 89 severe and 78 uncomplicated) were analyzed for their genetic polymorphism of CD31 to examine the clinical relationship between the disease and specific genotypes. Four alleles were defined 125 valine (V)-563 asparagine (N); 125V-563 serine (S); 125 leucine (L)-563N; and 125L-563S. We found that the frequency of the 125 V/V 563 N/N genotype was significantly high in CM patients as compared with severe cases without CM (P<0.01, OR=2.92), suggesting that this genotype is one of the risk factors for CM. |