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Review
. 2000 Oct 28;321(7268):1061-5.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.321.7268.1061.

Science, medicine, and the future: susceptibility to infection

Affiliations
Review

Science, medicine, and the future: susceptibility to infection

D Kwiatkowski. BMJ. .
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6, which has been fully sequenced. Within 3.6 megabases there are an estimated 128 expressed genes, of which 40% are predicted to have immune function. Red bars mark the locations of putative immune genes, some of which are labelled (TNF=tumour necrosis factor, LT=lymphotoxin, HSP=heat shock protein, C2 and C4=complement genes, TAP=antigen peptide transporter)
Figure 2
Figure 2
The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax invades human erythrocytes by binding to Duffy antigen/chemokine receptor (DARC) expressed on the erythrocyte surface. Many west Africans have a single nucleotide polymorphism in the DARC promoter region that prevents binding of the erythroid transcription factor GATA-1, thus suppressing DARC expression in erythrocytes but not other cell types. This confers complete protection against infection with P vivax but not against other species of malaria parasite, which invade erythrocytes through different receptors

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