Allelic dimorphism of the erythocyte binding antigen-175 ( eba -175) gene of Plasmodium falciparum and severe malaria: Significant association of the C-segment with fatal outcome in Ghanaian children

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Otchwemah Rowland N, Dietz Ekkehardt, Dittrich Sabine, Möhl Ingo, Mockenhaupt Frank P, Cramer Jakob P, Ehrhardt Stephan, Bienzle Ulrich, Jelinek Tomas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2004
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-3-11; https://doaj.org/article/f1ccd21dd0364bf7a8a8e9ec5cca58f0

Abstract Background The erythrocyte binding antigen-175 (EBA-175) on Plasmodium falciparum merozoites mediates sialic acid dependent binding to glycophorin A on host erythrocytes and, therefore, plays a crucial role in cell invasion. Dimorphic allele segments have been found in its encoding gene with a 342 bp segment present in FCR-3 strains (F-segment) and a 423 bp segment in CAMP strains (C-segment). Possible associations of the dimorphism with severe malaria have been analysed in a case-control study in northern Ghana. Methods Blood samples of 289 children with severe malaria and 289 matched parasitaemic but asymptomatic controls were screened for eba- 175 F- and C-segments by nested polymerase chain reaction. Results In children with severe malaria, prevalences of F-, C- and mixed F-/C-segments were 70%, 19%, and 11%, respectively. The C-segment was found more frequently in severe malaria cases whereas mixed infections were more common in controls. Infection with strains harbouring the C-segment significantly increased the risk of fatal outcome. Conclusion The results show that the C-segment is associated with fatal outcome in children with severe malaria in northern Ghana, suggesting that it may contribute to the virulence of the parasite.