Ficolin-1 in pediatric Plasmodium falciparum malaria and its possible role in parasite clearance and anemia

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum malaria causes significant disease, especially in young children. A successful immune response to P. falciparum is a major determinant of clinical outcome. The ficolins are a family of lectins that act as pattern recognition molecules and can activate the lectin complement pathway and may promote inflammation and facilitate opsonization and lysis of pathogens. Here, we have investigated the potential roles of ficolin1 and ficolin2 in the context of P. falciparum infection. We measured ficolin1 and ficolin2 concentrations in plasma from Malawian children presenting with uncomplicated or severe malaria or healthy controls (HCs) by ELISA. Using flow cytometry, we assessed ..