SUMMARYImmunoglobulin E has been associated with severe malaria suggesting a regulatory role for interleukin (IL)-4 and/or IgE in the pathogenesis of severe malaria. We have investigated possible associations between polymorphisms in the IL-4 repeat region (intron 3) and promoter regions (IL-4 +33CT and -590CT) in Ghanaian children with severe malaria. There was a significantly higher frequency of IL-4 intron-3 B1B1 genotype in the cerebral malaria group [ P < 0·0001, odds ratio (OR) = 8·7]. The genotype and allele frequencies of the IL-4 -590 and +33 polymorphisms did not differ between the four study groups. Carriers of IL-4 +33T/ -590T with cerebral malaria had elevated total IgE compared to noncarriers ( P = 0·03). Our data suggest that IL-4 and/or IgE play a regulatory role in the pathogenesis of severe or complicated malaria.

RA patients had increased levels and prevalence of autoantibodies against CL, oxLDL and MDA-LDL, with associations to severity of disease and cardiovascular complications.

We have investigated the possible associations between polymorphisms in two interleukin-1 (IL-1) genes and severity of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Ghanaian children with cerebral malaria, severe anaemia or uncomplicated malaria and controls. There was no significant difference in genotype and allele frequencies in IL-1b exon 5 or interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) polymorphisms between the studied groups, suggesting that the two polymorphisms may not be involved in the pathogenesis of severe malaria. When parasitaemias in uncomplicated malaria patients were evaluated, a significantly higher level of parasitaemia was observed among carriers of IL-1b A2 allele as compared with noncarriers of this allele (P 0.01). The mean parasitaemia in an age-matched asymptomatic group did not reveal such associations. These data suggest that IL-1b exon 5 allele 2 may play a possible role in the clinical outcome of uncomplicated malaria.

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