Genomewide analysis of the host response to malaria in Kenyan children. by Griffiths, M, Shafi, M, Popper, S, Hemingway, C, Kortok, M, Wathen, A, Rockett, K, Mott, R, Levin, M, Newton, C, Marsh, K, Relman, D, Kwiatkowski, D

“…When malarial parasites invade and develop within the bloodstream, they stimulate a profound host response whose main clinical sign is fever. …”

Resistance to malaria through structural variation of red blood cell invasion receptors by Leffler, E, Band, G, Clarke, G, Kivinen, K, Le, Q, Clarke, G, Bojang, K, Conway, D, Jallow, M, Sisay-Joof, F, Bougouma, E, Mangano, V, Modiano, D, Sirima, S, Achidi, E, Apinjoh, T, Marsh, K, Ndila, C, Peshu, N, Williams, T, Drakeley, C, Manjurano, A, Reyburn, H, Riley, E, Kachala, D, Molyneux, M, Nyirongo, V, Taylor, T, Thornton, N, Tilley, L, Grimsley, S, Drury, E, Stalker, J, Cornelius, V, Hubbart, C, Jeffreys, A, Rowlands, K, Rockett, K, Spencer, C, Kwiatkowski, D, Malaria Genomic Epidemiology Network

“…Plasmodium falciparum invades erythrocytes via interactions with proteins on the host cell surface. …”

Genomic analysis of plasmodium vivax in southern Ethiopia reveals selective pressures in multiple parasite mechanisms by Auburn, S, Getachew, S, Pearson, R, Amato, R, Miotto, O, Trimarsanto, H, Zhu, S, Rumaseb, A, Marfurt, J, Noviyanti, R, Grigg, M, Barber, B, William, T, Goncalves, S, Drury, E, Sriprawat, K, Anstey, N, Nosten, F, Petros, B, Aseffa, A, McVean, G, Kwiatkowski, D, Price, R

“…Most of sub-Saharan Africa has remained relatively vivax-free due to a high prevalence of the human Duffy-negative trait, but the emergence of strains able to invade Duffy-negative reticulocytes poses a major public health threat. …”

Binding of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface proteins DBLMSP and DBLMSP2 to human immunoglobulin M is conserved amongst broadly diverged sequence variants by Crosnier, C, Iqbal, Z, Knuepfer, E, Maciuca, S, Perrin, A, Kamuyu, G, Goulding, D, Bustamante, L, Miles, A, Moore, S, Dougan, G, Holder, A, Kwiatkowski, D, Rayner, J, Pleass, R, Wright, G

“…While this interaction did not seem to have an effect on the ability of the parasite to invade red blood cells, binding of DBLMSP and DBLMSP2 to IgM inhibited the overall immunoreactivity of these proteins to IgG from patients who had been exposed to the parasite. …”

Binding of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface proteins DBLMSP and DBLMSP2 to human immunoglobulin M Is conserved among broadly diverged sequence variants by Crosnier, C, Iqbal, Z, Knuepfer, E, Maciuca, S, Perrin, A, Kamuyu, G, Goulding, D, Bustamante, L, Miles, A, Moore, S, Dougan, G, Holder, A, Kwiatkowski, D, Rayner, J, Pleass, R, Wright, G

“…Although this interaction did not seem to have an effect on the ability of the parasite to invade red blood cells, binding of DBLMSP and DBLMSP2 to IgM inhibited the overall immunoreactivity of these proteins to IgG from patients who had been exposed to the parasite. …”

Population genomic scan for candidate signatures of balancing selection to guide antigen characterization in malaria parasites by Amambua-Ngwa, A, Tetteh, K, Manske, M, Gomez-Escobar, N, Stewart, L, Deerhake, M, Cheeseman, I, Newbold, C, Holder, A, Knuepfer, E, Janha, O, Jallow, M, Campino, S, Macinnis, B, Kwiatkowski, D, Conway, D

“…Comparing genes with different stage-specificity, such signatures were most common in those with peak expression at the merozoite stage that invades erythrocytes. Members of clag, PfMC-2TM, surfin, and msp3-like gene families were highly represented, the strongest signature being in the msp3-like gene PF10_0355. …”

Independent origin and global distribution of distinct plasmodium vivax duffy binding protein gene duplications by Hostetler, J, Lo, E, Kanjee, U, Amaratunga, C, Suon, S, Sreng, S, Mao, S, Yewhalaw, D, Mascarenhas, A, Kwiatkowski, D, Ferreira, M, Rathod, P, Yan, G, Fairhurst, R, Duraisingh, M, Rayner, J

“…The pathology of P. vivax infection depends critically on the parasite's ability to recognize and invade human erythrocytes. This invasion process involves an interaction between P. vivax Duffy Binding Protein (PvDBP) in merozoites and the Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) on the erythrocyte surface. …”

Genome-wide analysis of selection on the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in West African populations of differing infection endemicity. by Mobegi, V, Duffy, C, Amambua-Ngwa, A, Loua, K, Laman, E, Nwakanma, D, MacInnis, B, Aspeling-Jones, H, Murray, L, Clark, T, Kwiatkowski, D, Conway, D

“…In contrast, both populations showed a similar set of loci likely to be under balancing selection as indicated by very high Tajima's D values, including a significant overrepresentation of genes expressed at the merozoite stage that invades erythrocytes and several previously validated targets of acquired immunity. …”

Human candidate gene polymorphisms and risk of severe malaria in children in Kilifi, Kenya: a case-control association study by Ndila, C, Uyoga, S, Macharia, A, Nyutu, G, Peshu, N, Ojal, J, Shebe, M, Awuondo, K, Mturi, N, Tsofa, B, Sepúlveda, N, Clark, T, Band, G, Clarke, G, Rowlands, K, Hubbart, C, Jeffreys, A, Kariuki, S, Marsh, K, Mackinnon, M, Maitland, K, Kwiatkowski, D, Rockett, K, Williams, T, Malariagen Consortium

“…ATP2B4 codes for plasma membrane calcium-transporting ATPase 4 (the major calcium pump on red blood cells) and the glycophorins are ligands for parasites to invade red blood cells. Future work should aim at uncovering the mechanisms by which these polymorphisms can result in severe malaria protection and investigate the implications of these associations for wider health.…”