AUTHOR=Mbambo Gillian , Dwivedi Ankit , Ifeonu Olukemi O. , Munro James B. , Shrestha Biraj , Bromley Robin E. , Hodges Theresa , Adkins Ricky S. , Kouriba Bourema , Diarra Issa , Niangaly Amadou , Kone Abdoulaye K. , Coulibaly Drissa , Traore Karim , Dolo Amagana , Thera Mahamadou A. , Laurens Matthew B. , Doumbo Ogobara K. , Plowe Christopher V. , Berry Andrea A. , Travassos Mark , Lyke Kirsten E. , Silva Joana C. TITLE=Immunogenomic profile at baseline predicts host susceptibility to clinical malaria JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1179314 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1179314 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=Introduction

Host gene and protein expression impact susceptibility to clinical malaria, but the balance of immune cell populations, cytokines and genes that contributes to protection, remains incompletely understood. Little is known about the determinants of host susceptibility to clinical malaria at a time when acquired immunity is developing.

Methods

We analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from children who differed in susceptibility to clinical malaria, all from a small town in Mali. PBMCs were collected from children aged 4-6 years at the start, peak and end of the malaria season. We characterized the immune cell composition and cytokine secretion for a subset of 20 children per timepoint (10 children with no symptomatic malaria age-matched to 10 children with >2 symptomatic malarial illnesses), and gene expression patterns for six children (three per cohort) per timepoint.

Results

We observed differences between the two groups of children in the expression of genes related to cell death and inflammation; in particular, inflammatory genes such as CXCL10 and STAT1 and apoptotic genes such as XAF1 were upregulated in susceptible children before the transmission season began. We also noted higher frequency of HLA-DR+ CD4 T cells in protected children during the peak of the malaria season and comparable levels cytokine secretion after stimulation with malaria schizonts across all three time points.

Conclusion

This study highlights the importance of baseline immune signatures in determining disease outcome. Our data suggests that differences in apoptotic and inflammatory gene expression patterns can serve as predictive markers of susceptibility to clinical malaria.