Characterizing Endothelin-1 and ABO Blood Type in Cerebral Malaria

Abstract

Malaria remains one of the most life-threatening problems in the world today. Cerebral Malaria (CM) caused by Plasmodium falciparum infection is a severe form of malarial disease that kills more than two million people annually, most of which are children. CM affects the brain and is associated with cognitive impairments, coma, and death. Left untreated, it is fatal with 24-72 hours. Quicker diagnosis is needed to provide adequate and superior treatment. In order to do so, a better understanding of the disease pathogenesis is needed. The goal of my proposed research was to further characterize endothelial cell activation in children with cerebral malaria, as well as the role of blood type as possible clinical markers that may play a role in the disease. The first aim of the project was to measure endothelin-1 levels in samples previously obtained at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Samples were comprised of children ages 4-12 with varying levels of disease severity. Endothelin-1 levels were measured by an immunoassay and analyzed with relation to known clinical outcomes. My second aim was to develop a polymerase chain reaction assay to determine ABO blood type from the Ugandan children's genomic DNA. I have developed a protocol using positive and negative controls that I will apply toward genotyping samples from the patients. Though this project is still in progress, I expect my results will help to characterize the role of endothelin-1 and blood type in cerebral malaria pathogenesis.