Publication: Involvement of interleukin-18 in severe Plasmodium falciaparum malaria
Issued Date
2003-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
00359203
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-0013251855
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vol.97, No.2 (2003), 236-241
Suggested Citation
Yukiko Nagamine, Masashi Hayano, Shin Ichiro Kashiwamura, Haruki Okamura, Kenji Nakanishi, Srivicha Krudsod, Polrat Wilairatana, Sornchai Looareesuwan, Somei Kojima Involvement of interleukin-18 in severe Plasmodium falciaparum malaria. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Vol.97, No.2 (2003), 236-241. doi:10.1016/S0035-9203(03)90130-1 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/20943
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Authors
Journal Issue
Thesis
Title
Involvement of interleukin-18 in severe Plasmodium falciaparum malaria
Abstract
Serum levels of interleukin-18 (IL-18), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and immunoglobulin E (IgE) were determined for 96 patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria admitted to hospital, Bangkok, Thailand in the period 1998-2000. The patients were divided into 3 groups, i.e. uncomplicated, severe and cerebral malaria according to WHO criteria (2000). Elevation of IL-18 levels was observed in all 3 groups, with a tendency for higher levels in cases with severe malaria throughout the course of the disease. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between IL-18 levels and the extent of parasitaemia among patients with severe malaria. However, IL-18 levels decreased more significantly in patients with cerebral malaria compared with the other groups in the late stage of the disease. Elevated levels of IFN-γ were also observed in all groups of patients, especially in those with severe or cerebral malaria, and the levels in patients with cerebral malaria remained significantly higher than in those with uncomplicated malaria during days 4-7 post-treatment, suggesting the involvement of IFN-γ in disease severity. Meanwhile, no significant difference was observed in IgE levels between the severe and uncomplicated groups of patients with helminth infection, although IgE levels were significantly higher in helminth-infected patients than uninfected patients. These results suggest that IL-18 plays a key role in inducing severe malaria through another pathway, such as elevation of IFN-γ, rather than its IgE inducing activity.