Interferon-γ—central mediator of protective immune responses against the pre-erythrocytic and blood stage of malaria

Abstract

Immune responses against Plasmodium parasites, the causative organisms of malaria, are traditionally dichotomized into pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage components. Whereas the central role of cellular responses in pre-erythrocytic immunity is well established, protection against blood-stage parasites has generally been ascribed to humoral responses. A number of recent studies, however, have highlighted the existence of cellular immunity against blood-stage parasites, in particular, the prominence of IFN-γ production. Here, we have undertaken to chart the contribution of this prototypical cellular cytokine to immunity against pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage parasites. We summarize the various antiparasitic effector functions that IFN-γ serves to induce, review an array of data about its protective effects, and scrutinize evidence for any deleterious, immunopathological outcome in malaria patients. We discuss the activation and contribution of different cellular sources of IFN-γ production during malaria infection and its regulation in relation to exposure. We conclude that IFN-γ forms a central mediator of protective immune responses against pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage malaria parasites and identify a number of implications for rational malaria vaccine development.

IL-22 Mediates Host Defense against an Intestinal Intracellular Parasite in the Absence of IFN-γ at the Cost of Th17-Driven Immunopathology

“…(1)(2)(3)(4). IFN-g is a potent proinflammatory cytokine derived from multiple cells of both the innate and adaptive immune system, including CD4 + Th1 cells, CD8 + T cells, and NK cells.…”

Molecular profiling of the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata L.) response to chronic exposure to the myxosporean parasite Enteromyxum leei

“…They are also known to play a role in some parasitic infections, including resistance (Lillehoj and Choi, 1998;Pollock et al, 2001;McCall and Sauerwein, 2010). R-NonPAR fish exhibited significant up-regulation of several IFN-stimulated genes in the INT (interferon-induced protein 44, interferon regulatory factor 1 and also interferon-induced 35kDa protein at a 1.47-fold level), and HK (interferon regulatory factor 1, interferon related developmental regulator 1, albeit at less than 1.5-fold).…”

Performance of Interferon-Gamma and IP-10 Release Assays for Diagnosing Latent Tuberculosis Infections in Patients with Concurrent Malaria in Tanzania

“…27 Petrone and others investigated IP-10 as a marker of TB in children and found raised levels of IP-10 in blood and urine but not significant higher than levels found in children with other respiratory diseases. This supports that IP-10 is an unspecific marker of inflammation rather than of any specific disease.…”