Targeting Neutrophils to Prevent Malaria-Associated Acute Lung Injury/Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Mice

Abstract

Malaria remains one of the greatest burdens to global health, causing nearly 500,000 deaths in 2014. When manifesting in the lungs, severe malaria causes acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS). We have previously shown that a proportion of DBA/2 mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA) develop ALI/ARDS and that these mice recapitulate various aspects of the human syndrome, such as pulmonary edema, hemorrhaging, pleural effusion and hypoxemia. Herein, we investigated the role of neutrophils in the pathogenesis of malaria-associated ALI/ARDS. Mice developing ALI/ARDS showed greater neutrophil accumulation in the lungs compared with mice that did not develop pu..