Complement receptor 1 polymorphisms associated with resistance to severe malaria in Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been hypothesized that the African alleles <it>Sl2 </it>and <it>McC</it>^{<it>b </it>}of the Swain-Langley (Sl) and McCoy (McC) blood group antigens of the complement receptor 1 (CR1) may confer a survival advantage in the setting of <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>malaria, but this has not been demonstrated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To test this hypothesis, children in western Kenya with severe malaria-associated anaemia or cerebral malaria were matched to symptomatic uncomplicated malaria controls by age and gender. Swain-Langley and McCoy blood group alleles were determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism and conditional logistic regression was carried out.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No significant association was found between the African alleles and severe malaria-associated anaemia. However, children with <it>Sl2/2 </it>genotype were less likely to have cerebral malaria (OR = 0.17, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.72, P = 0.02) than children with <it>Sl1/1</it>. In particular, individuals with <it>Sl2/2 McC</it>^{<it>a/b </it>}genotype were less likely to have cerebral malaria (OR = 0.18, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.77, P = 0.02) than individuals with <it>Sl1/1 McC</it>^<it>a/a</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results support the hypothesis that the <it>Sl2 </it>allele and, possibly, the <it>McC</it>^{<it>b </it>}allele evolved in the context of malaria transmission and that in certain combinations probably confer a survival advantage on these populations.</p>

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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