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Antimalarial antibody levels and IL4 polymorphism in the Fulani of West Africa

Genes & Immunity volume 2, pages 411–414 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The Fulani are less clinically susceptible and more immunologically responsive to malaria than neighbouring ethnic groups. Here we report that anti-malarial antibody levels show a wide distribution amongst the Fulani themselves, raising the possibility that quantitative analysis within the Fulani may be an efficient way of screening for important genetic factors. The Th2 cytokine interleukin-4 is an obvious candidate: in Fulani, the IL4-524 T allele is at high frequency and is associated with elevated antibody levels against malaria antigens. These data highlight the possibility of combining inter- and intra-ethnic comparisons to characterize critical determinants of malarial immunity in a natural setting.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the villagers of Barkoundouba and Barkoumbilen for their kind participation and we are deeply indebted to the personnel of the Immunoparasitology Unit of the Centre National de Recherche et Formation sur le Paludisme (CNRFP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fondazione Pasteur Cenci-Bolognetti, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    G Luoni, F Verra & M Coluzzi

  2. Centre National de REcherche et Formation sur le Paludisme, Ministry of Health, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

    BS Sirima

  3. Department of Immunology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

    M Troye-Blomberg

  4. Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK

    D Kwiatkowski

  5. Dipartimento di Biologia Molecolare, Cellulare e Animale, Università di Camerino, Italy

    D Modiano

  6. Dipartimento di Scienze di Sanità Pubblica, Sezione di Parassitologia, WHO Collaborating Centre for Malaria Epidemiology, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    G Luoni, F Verra, B Arcà, M Coluzzi & D Modiano

Authors
  1. G Luoni
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  2. F Verra
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  3. B Arcà
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  4. BS Sirima
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  5. M Troye-Blomberg
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  6. M Coluzzi
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  7. D Kwiatkowski
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  8. D Modiano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D Modiano.

Additional information

The CNRFP was supported by the Programma di Assistenza Tecnica della Direzione Generale per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The study was supported by the INCO DC European Union Contract No. IC18-CT980361 and by the World Health Organization, Geneva.

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Luoni, G., Verra, F., Arcà, B. et al. Antimalarial antibody levels and IL4 polymorphism in the Fulani of West Africa. Genes Immun 2, 411–414 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6363797

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6363797

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