Interferon-gamma : central mediator of protective immune responses against the pre-erythrocytic and blood stage of malaria

Abstract

Immune responses against Plasmodium parasites, the causative organisms of malaria, are traditionally dichotomized into pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage components. Whereas the central role of cellular responses in pre-erythrocytic immunity is well established, protection against blood-stage parasites has generally been ascribed to humoral responses. A number of recent studies, however, have highlighted the existence of cellular immunity against blood-stage parasites, in particular, the prominence of IFN-gamma production. Here, we have undertaken to chart the contribution of this prototypical cellular cytokine to immunity against pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage parasites. We summarize the various antiparasitic effector functions that IFN-gamma serves to induce, review an array of data about its protective effects, and scrutinize evidence for any deleterious, immunopathological outcome in malaria patients. We discuss the activation and contribution of different cellular sources of IFN-gamma production during malaria infection and its regulation in relation to exposure. We conclude that IFN-gamma forms a central mediator of protective immune responses against pre-erythrocytic and blood-stage malaria parasites and identify a number of implications for rational malaria vaccine development.