Sujittra ChaisavaneeyakornCaroline OthoroYa Ping ShiJuliana OtienoSansanee C. ChaiyarojAltaf A. LalVenkatachalam UdhayakumarNational Center for Infectious DiseasesMahidol UniversityKenya Medical Research InstituteNew Nyanza Provincial General HospitalCenters for Disease Control and Prevention2018-07-242018-07-242003-06-01Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology. Vol.10, No.3 (2003), 362-3661071412X2-s2.0-0038633500https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/20724In this study, we investigated whether levels of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-18 in plasma are associated with severe malarial anemia outcomes in an area of holoendemicity in western Kenya. We compared plasma IL-12 and IL-18 levels in six groups of children grouped into the categories aparasitemic, asymptomatic, mild malaria, high-density uncomplicated malaria (UC), moderate malarial anemia (MMA), or severe malarial anemia (SMA). IL-12 levels were significantly reduced in children with SMA (P < 0.05) but not in other groups compared to children in the aparasitemic control group. IL-18, a cytokine known to be critical for the induction of gamma interferon along with IL-12, was produced more frequently (70%) in children with UC (P = 0.06) than in children in the aparasitemic control group (32%). However, in the SMA group the IL-18 response rate declined to 30%, which was similar to that in the aparasitemic control group, which showed a 32% response rate. This finding suggests that the IL-18 response may be impaired in children with SMA. In summary, the results from this study support the hypothesis that impairment of IL-12 and/or IL-18 response may contribute to the development of severe malarial anemia in areas of holoendemicity for malaria.Mahidol UniversityBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyImmunology and MicrobiologyArticleSCOPUS10.1128/CDLI.10.3.362-366.2003