Abstract
During childhood, residents of areas with stable transmission of Plasmodium falciparum parasites acquire substantial protective immunity to malaria, and adults therefore rarely experience clinical disease episodes. However, susceptibility to infection reappears in pregnant women, particularly primigravidae. This is due to appearance of antigenic parasite variants that are restricted to pregnancy. Variant-specific immunity also governs pregnancy-associated recrudescence of Plasmodium berghei infection in pregnant mice. Pregnancy-related changes in the plasma cytokine levels of mice with immunity acquired prior to first pregnancy have not been studied in detail previously, and were the topic of the present study.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Malaria Journal |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 387 |
ISSN | 1475-2875 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2013 |