Is T-cell priming required for initiation of pathology in malaria infections?

Abstract

The pathology of malaria infection is mediated in part by components of the innate immune system, particularly tumour necrosis factor alpha, but the relationship between malaria infection and disease is not straightforward. Here, Eleanor Riley proposes that T-cell priming is required for amplification of the inflammatory response to malaria and that this explains patterns of clinical malaria in both endemic and non-endemic populations.