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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, November 2001, p. 1289-1291, Vol. 8, No. 6
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.6.1289-1291.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Insecticide-Treated Bed Nets Reduce Plasma Antibody Levels and Limit the Repertoire of Antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum Variant Surface Antigens

Nikolaj Askjaer,1 Caroline Maxwell,2 William Chambo,3 Trine Staalsoe,1 Morten Nielsen,1 Lars Hviid,1 Chris Curtis,2 and Thor G. Theander1,*

Centre for Medical Parasitology at Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital (Rigshospitalet), and Institute for Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark1; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom2; and National Institute of Medical Research, Amani Medical Research Centre, Amani, Tanzania3

Received 14 January 2001/Returned for modification 5 April 2001/Accepted 21 August 2001

The use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITN) has been documented to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in areas with endemic malaria, but concerns have been raised that ITN usage could affect the acquisition of malaria immunity. Several lines of evidence have indicated that antibodies against variant surface antigens (VSA) are important in the development of naturally acquired immunity to Plasmodium falciparum malaria and may thus be good indicators of immune status. We have compared the levels of VSA antibodies in plasma from children who have used ITN for 4 years to levels in plasma from children from a nearby village not using ITN. A total of 97 plasma samples were analyzed using 13 different P. falciparum isolates. We found that the children using ITN had significantly lower VSA antibody levels and recognized a smaller proportion of the VSA expressed by the tested parasite isolates than children not using ITN.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Copenhagen, Panum Institute Building 24.2, Blegdamsvej 3, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark. Phone: 45 35 32 76 77. Fax: 45 35 32 78 51. E-mail: theander{at}biobase.dk.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, November 2001, p. 1289-1291, Vol. 8, No. 6
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.6.1289-1291.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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