Host response to malaria during pregnancy: Placental monocyte recruitment is associated with elevated β chemokine expression

Abstract

Malaria during pregnancy is associated with poor birth outcomes, particularly low birth weight. Recently, monocyte infiltration into the placental intervillous space has been identified as a key risk factor for low birth weight. However, the malaria-induced chemokines involved in recruiting and activating placental monocytes have not been identified. In this study, we determined which chemokines are elevated during placental malaria infection and the association between chemokine expression and placental monocyte infiltration. Placental malaria infection was associated with elevations in mRNA expression of three β chemokines, macrophage-inflammatory protein 1 (MIP-1) α (CCL3), monocyte chemo..