Immuno-Genetic epidemiology of complex malaria in India (India ICEMR)

Objectives

This project has the overall theme of studying the immuno-genetic epidemiology of complex malaria in India as part of the Center for the Study of Complex Malaria in India.

The specific objectives are to: 

1. To investigate the development of natural immunity to malaria in individuals, its association with prior exposure to malaria, parasite species, and parasite genetic diversity.
2. To study complex mixed-species infections, and the differing ratios of Plasmodium species in infections across geography and time.
3. To determine the genetic diversity of the highly variable “var” gene family in Indian malaria parasites, which is thought to help the parasite evade the human immune system, and assess how var diversity relates to development of natural resistance to malaria by hosts.
4. To analyze the inflammatory immune response to malaria in Indian subjects, particularly in relation to production by the parasite of uric acid (a recently proposed mediator of malaria-induced inflammation), and the severity of malaria as a function of diversity of dendridic cells which control the activation of human immune response.
5. To investigate whether naturally-immune individuals in India harbour specific antibodies to regions of a known malaria antigen, CSP.