Immunopathology of malaria

Abstract

Antibodies with different spectra of reactivity are produced during malarial infections and marked changes in IgG and IgM levels occur. In addition malaria elicits serological changes that are usually associated with connective tissue disease. The excessive anaemia associated with malaria may, in part, be an autoimmune phenomenon. Transient nephritis accompanies many plasmodial infections but chronic malarial nephrotic syndrome is specifically associated with quartan malaria. Malarial infection leads to splenomegaly, the most extreme form of which is idiopathic tropical splenomegaly, which probably represents an aberrant immune response to the infection. Malaria can affect the humoral immune response to unrelated antigens and infectious agents. This may be relevant to the etiology of Burkitt's lymphoma. During pregnancy there is some loss of acquired immunity to P. falciparum and the placenta appears to be an immunologically privileged site for the multiplication of this parasite.