α-thalassemia impairs the cytoadherence of plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytesα-thalassemia损害cytoadherence falciparum-infected疟原虫的红细胞.pdf

a-Thalassemia Impairs the Cytoadherence of Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes 1 2 1 1 Michael A. Krause , Seidina A. S. Diakite , Tatiana M. Lopera-Mesa , Chanaki Amaratunga , 3 2 2 2 4 Takayuki Arie , Karim Traore , Saibou Doumbia , Drissa Konate , Jeffrey R. Keefer , 2 1 Mahamadou Diakite , Rick M. Fairhurst * 1 Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America, 2 Malaria Research and Training Center, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Odontostomatology, University of Bamako, Bamako, Mali, 3 Department of Physics and Electronics, School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan, 4 Division of Pediatric Hematology, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America Abstract Background: a-thalassemia results from decreased production of a-globin chains that make up part of hemoglobin tetramers (Hb; a b ) and affects up to 50% of individuals in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Heterozygous ( 2a/aa) and 2 2 homozygous (2a/ 2a) genotypes are associated with reduced risk of severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria, but the mechanism of this protection remains obscure. We hypothesized that a-thalassemia impairs the adherence of parasitized red blood cells (RBCs) to microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs) and monocytes – two interactions that are centrally involved