Malaria in pregnancy: Humoral immune mechanisms of protection, impact of HIV co-infection, and treatment options.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 107
ISBN-13: 9780494213193
Description: Approximately 25 million women become pregnant each year in malaria-endemic regions of sub-Saharan Africa and are at increased risk for Plasmodium falciparum infection, particularly in their first pregnancy. Multigravid women acquire protective immunity against pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM); however HIV infection impairs this protective immune response by mechanisms which remain unknown. Protection against PAM correlates with the acquisition of IgG specific for novel variant surface antigens (VSA-PAM) expressed by chondroitin sulfate (CSA)-adhering parasitized erythrocytes (PEs). However, the mechanisms by which VSA-PAM-specific IgG protects against PAM are unclear. To clarify the IgG-mediated mechanisms of protection against PAM, the role of VSA-PAM-specific IgG in promoting the opsonic phagocytic clearance of CSA-adhering PEs and the impact of HIV infection on this humoral response were examined. Treatment options for the case-management of PAM are also discussed, with a detailed investigation of chloroquine plus azithromycin combination therapy as a novel therapeutic for the treatment of PAM.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-03, page: 1449.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

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