NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 24 (UPI) -- Yale University scientists say a protein produced by immune cells during malaria infection triggers severe anemia, a lethal complication of the disease.
Richard Bucala and colleagues determined immune cells in mice with malaria secrete a protein called MIF, which decreases the production of red blood cells from bone marrow.
The Yale researchers are trying to determine whether MIF levels influence susceptibility to or severity of malarial anemia in humans. If so, synthetic inhibitors of MIF -- currently in clinical development -- might provide an effective alternative to costly and risky blood transfusions currently used to treat malarial anemia.
According to the World Health Organization, there are approximately 300 million to 500 million cases of malaria each year, with pregnant women and young children at highest risk. Severe anemia -- a common complication of malaria -- is one of the major causes of death among children.
The study appears online in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
