A longitudinal study of plasma BAFF levels in mothers and their infants in Uganda, and correlations with subsets of B cells
Open Access
- 19 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 16 (1), e0245431
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245431
Abstract
Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease with approximately half of the world’s population at risk. Young children and pregnant women are hit hardest by the disease. B cells and antibodies are part of an adaptive immune response protecting individuals continuously exposed to the parasite. An infection with Plasmodium falciparum can cause dysregulation of B cell homeostasis, while antibodies are known to be key in controlling symptoms and parasitemia. BAFF is an instrumental cytokine for the development and maintenance of B cells. Pregnancy alters the immune status and renders previously clinically immune women at risk of severe malaria, potentially due to altered B cell responses associated with changes in BAFF levels. In this prospective study, we investigated the levels of BAFF in a malaria-endemic area in mothers and their infants from birth up to 9 months. We found that BAFF-levels are significantly higher in infants than in mothers. BAFF is highest in cord blood and then drops rapidly, but remains significantly higher in infants compared to mothers even at 9 months of age. We further correlated BAFF levels to P. falciparum-specific antibody levels and B cell frequencies and found a negative correlation between BAFF and both P. falciparum-specific and total proportions of IgG+ memory B cells, as well as CD27− memory B cells, indicating that exposure to both malaria and other diseases affect the development of B-cell memory and that BAFF plays a part in this. In conclusion, we have provided new information on how natural immunity against malaria is formed.This publication has 53 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Plasma Concentration of the B Cell Activating Factor Is Increased in Children With Acute MalariaThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2011
- The transmembrane activator TACI triggers immunoglobulin class switching by activating B cells through the adaptor MyD88Nature Immunology, 2010
- A prospective analysis of the Ab response to Plasmodium falciparum before and after a malaria season by protein microarrayProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010
- Long-Lived Antibody and B Cell Memory Responses to the Human Malaria Parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivaxPLoS Pathogens, 2010
- Atypical Memory B Cells Are Greatly Expanded in Individuals Living in a Malaria-Endemic AreaThe Journal of Immunology, 2009
- BLyS inhibition eliminates primary B cells but leaves natural and acquired humoral immunity intactProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008
- Signaling Pathways for B Cell-Activating Factor (BAFF) and a Proliferation-Inducing Ligand (APRIL) in Human PlacentaThe American Journal of Pathology, 2008
- Increased susceptibility of cord blood B lymphocytes to undergo spontaneous apoptosisClinical and Experimental Immunology, 2006
- Evidence for the Involvement of VAR2CSA in Pregnancy-associated MalariaThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2004
- BAFF: A fundamental survival factor for B cellsNature Reviews Immunology, 2002