Effects of pregnancy and intensity of Plasmodium falciparum transmission on immunoglobulin G subclass responses to variant surface antigens
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Placenta-sequestering Plasmodium falciparum involved in the pathogenesis of pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) in otherwise clinically immune women expresses particular variant surface antigens (VSA(PAM)) on the surface of infected erythrocytes that differ from VSA found in parasitized nonpregnant individuals (non-PAM type VSA). We studied levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclasses with specificity for VSA(PAM) and for non-PAM type VSA in pregnant and nonpregnant women from two sites with different endemicities in Cameroon. We found that VSA(PAM)-specific responses depended on the pregnancy status, parity, gestational age, and parasite transmission intensity, whereas only the parasite transmission intensity influenced the levels of IgG specific for non-PAM type VSA. For both types of VSA, the responses were dominated by the cytophilic subclass IgG1, followed by IgG3. In pregnant women, the levels of VSA(PAM)-specific antibodies either were very low or negative or were very high, whereas the levels of the antibodies specific for non-PAM type VSA were uniformly high. Interestingly, the levels of VSA(PAM)-specific IgG1 increased with increasing gestational age, while the levels of the corresponding IgG3 tended to decrease with increasing gestational age. The IgG subclass responses with specificity for non-PAM type VSA did not vary significantly with gestational age. Taken together, our data indicate that IgG1 and to a lesser extent IgG3 are the main subclasses involved in acquired VSA(PAM)-specific immunity to pregnancy-associated malaria.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Infection and Immunity |
Volume | 73 |
Issue number | 7 |
Pages (from-to) | 4112-8 |
Number of pages | 6 |
ISSN | 0019-9567 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2005 |
Bibliographical note
Keywords: Adolescent; Adult; Antibodies, Protozoan; Antigens, Protozoan; Disease Transmission, Vertical; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Malaria, Falciparum; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Parity; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic
ID: 5831673