Abstract
HYPERGAMMAGLOBULINAEMIA is a prominent feature of human malaria. Serum levels of IgM and IgG rise rapidly in acute infections1, and malaria has been implicated as an important cause of the raised levels of these immunoglobulins and the increased prevalence of rheumatoid factor and other autoantibodies found in healthy subjects in many parts of the tropics. Only a small proportion of the immunoglobulin produced in malaria can be shown to be specific antibody2. The mechanisms underlying the production of large amounts of nonspecific immunoglobulin in malaria have not been established. Excessive immunoglobulin production could result from a breakdown in normal control mechanisms, perhaps as a consequence of the deletion of suppressor T cells. Alternatively, it could be due to the production during malarial infection of a substance capable of stimulating lymphocytes nonspecifically3. Here we present evidence for the production of a mitogen in children with acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
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GREENWOOD, B., VICK, R. Evidence for a malaria mitogen in human malaria. Nature 257, 592–594 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/257592a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/257592a0
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