Depressed natural killer cell cytotoxicity against Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes during first pregnancies.
Publication year
2004Source
Clinical Infectious Diseases, 38, 3, (2004), pp. 342-7ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
Medical Microbiology
Journal title
Clinical Infectious Diseases
Volume
vol. 38
Issue
iss. 3
Page start
p. 342
Page end
p. 7
Subject
UMCN 4.1: Microbial pathogenesis and host defenseAbstract
We measured natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity and cortisol and prolactin concentrations in peripheral venous blood samples obtained from pregnant Gabonese women at the time of delivery. The NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity against Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in vitro was lower in samples obtained from primiparous women than in samples obtained from multiparous women; cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in primiparous women than in multiparous women, and prolactin concentrations were significantly lower. The highest cortisol concentrations were found in the plasma of P. falciparum-infected primiparous women. A positive correlation was found between cortisol concentration and parasite load; an inverse correlation was found between the magnitude of the NK cell cytolytic effect and cortisol production. A positive correlation was found between this effect and prolactin production. Thus, depressed NK cell cytotoxicity against P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes is correlated with high cortisol concentrations and may contribute to increased susceptibility to malaria during pregnancy.
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- Academic publications [227864]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [86218]
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