Placental expression of alpha 2,6-linked sialic acid is upregulated in malaria

Jones, C. J. P., Owens, S., Senga, E., van Rheenen, P., Faragher, Brian, Denton, J. and Brabin, Bernard (2008) 'Placental expression of alpha 2,6-linked sialic acid is upregulated in malaria'. Placenta, Vol 29, Issue 3, pp. 300-304.

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Abstract

In Africa, approximately 25 million pregnant women are at risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection each year, one in four has evidence of placental involvement and up to half of these may be associated with low birth weight outcomes. In infected pregnant women, the placenta is an ideal site for the accumulation of the parasites, and this reduces in extent in subsequent pregnancies. Recent data indicate that terminal alpha 2,3 sialic acid-dependent routes are central to the efficient invasion of erythrocytes with P. falciparum, however, the role in placental malaria of sialylated, or other glycoconjugates, on syncytiotrophoblast has not previously been assessed. Placental biopsies from Zambian women showed the Neu5Ac(g.2,6)Gal/GalNAc sequences bound by the lectin from Sambucus nigra (SNA-1) to have greatly increased expression on microvillous membranes in samples with chronic P.falciparum infection showing, by electronic image analysis, a significant trend (p = 0.002) compared to samples with past or no infection. This suggests a specific placental membrane response to falciparum malaria. Expression of alpha 2,6-linked sialic acid, demonstrated by the binding of SNA-1, has been associated with intercellular repulsion in tissues from patients with cancer, and such repulsion resulting from increased alpha 2,6 sialylation of chorionic villi could influence intervillous placental parasite density. Sialic acid expression should be examined in placental malaria to identify if this is a malaria-specific phenomenon, and to determine its relation to placental inflammation and pregnancy outcomes. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	malaria plasmodium falciparum placenta parasites sialic acid falciparum-infected erythrocytes blood-group phenotypes plasmodium-falciparum chondroitin sulfate glycophorin-a binding adhesion receptor syncytiotrophoblast thrombomodulin
Subjects:	QX Parasitology > Protozoa > QX 135 Plasmodia WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 750 Malaria WQ Obstetrics > Pregnancy Complications > WQ 256 Infectious diseases
Faculty: Department:	Groups (2002 - 2012) > Child & Reproductive Health Group Groups (2002 - 2012) > Clinical Group
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2007.12.007
Depositing User:	Pauline Anderson
Date Deposited:	20 Aug 2010 09:03
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2018 13:00
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/822

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