The Rapid and Spontaneous Postpartum Clearance of Plasmodium falciparum Is Related to Expulsion of the Placenta
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Journal of Infectious Diseases
Abstract
Parasitemia among pregnant women with protective immunity
to Plasmodium falciparum malaria is often dominated by
VAR2CSA-positive infected erythrocytes (IEs). VAR2CSA
mediates sequestration of IEs in the placenta. We
hypothesized that the previously observed spontaneous
postpartum clearance of parasitemia in such women is
related to the expulsion of the placenta, which removes the
sequestration focus of VAR2CSA-positive IEs. We assessed
parasitemias and gene transcription before and shortly after
delivery in 17 Ghanaian women. The precipitous decline in
parasitemia postpartum was accompanied by selective
reduction in transcription of the gene encoding VAR2CSA.
Our findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the
earlier observation.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
acquired immunity, VAR2CSA, placental malaria