The high frequencies of both α+ thalassemia and the sickle cell trait (hemoglobin AS [HbAS]) found in many tropical populations are thought to reflect selection pressure from Plasmodium falciparum malaria. For HbAS, but not for α+ thalassemia, protection appears to be mediated by the enhanced phagocytic clearance of ring-infected erythrocytes. We have investigated the genotype-specific distributions of peripheral blood leukocyte populations in two groups of children living on the coast of Kenya: a group of healthy P. falciparum parasite-negative children sampled at cross-sectional survey during a period of low malaria transmission, and a group of children attending the hospital with acute malaria. We report distinctive distributions of peripheral blood myeloid dendritic cells and monocytes in children with α+ thalassemia and HbAS during healthy periods and disease, and suggest ways in which these might relate to the mechanisms of protection afforded by these conditions. Copyright © 2006 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
CITATION STYLE
Urban, B. C., Shafi, M. J., Cordery, D. V., Macharia, A., Lowe, B., Marsh, K., & Williams, T. N. (2006). Frequencies of peripheral blood myeloid cells in healthy Kenyan children with α+ thalassemia and the sickle cell trait. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 74(4), 578–584. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2006.74.578
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