Frequencies of peripheral blood myeloid cells in healthy Kenyan children with alpha+ thalassemia and the sickle cell trait.

Journal article

The high frequencies of both alpha+ thalassemia and the sickle cell trait (hemoglobin AS [HbAS]) found in many tropical populations are thought to reflect selection pressure from Plasmodium falciparum malaria. For HbAS, but not for alpha+ thalassemia, protection appears to be mediated by the enhanced phagocytic clearance of ring-infected erythrocytes. We have investigated the genotype-specific distributions of peripheral blood leukocyte populations in two groups of children living on the coast of Kenya: a group of healthy P. falciparum parasite-negative children sampled at cross-sectional survey during a period of low malaria transmission, and a group of children attending the hospital with acute malaria. We report distinctive distributions of peripheral blood myeloid dendritic cells and monocytes in children with alpha+ thalassemia and HbAS during healthy periods and disease, and suggest ways in which these might relate to the mechanisms of protection afforded by these conditions.

Authors: Urban, B; Shafi, M; Cordery, D; Macharia, A; Lowe, B

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
• Volume: 74
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 578-584
• Publication date: 2006-04-01
• EISSN: 1476-1645
• ISSN: 0002-9637
• Language: English
• Keywords: Infant; Male; Humans; alpha-Thalassemia; Malaria, Falciparum; Cross-Sectional Studies; Genotype; Child, Preschool; Hemoglobin, Sickle; Kenya; Female; Child; Flow Cytometry; Sickle Cell Trait; Myeloid Cells