Innate immunity against p. falcicarum: the role of CD36

[Guest guest]

I posted recently about the monocyte/macrophage scavenger receptor

CD-36, which a recent study found is expressed 54% less in patients

on hypertensive doses of Losartan.

An August study found that CD36 knockout mice could not clear

methicillin resistant staph infections.

The 2002 paper linked to below provides a very readable, clear

analysis of leading role of CD36 in the innate immune response to

malaria. I was particulary struck by three things:

*CD36 expresion can be increased by vitamin A supplementation, which

studies have linked to improved resistance against p. falcicarum.

(It would be interesting to know whether sufficient levels of

vitamin A can counteract the suppression of CD36 by ARBs).

*phagocytosis of parasites mediated by CD36 kills the bugs without

releasing the high levels of inflammatory cytokines that result from

complement- or opsonin-mediated phagocytosis.

*specific inflammatory cytokines are suspected of facilitating the

sequestration of parasites in vital organs, and specifically the

brain.

The paper is in PDF format.

http://tinyurl.com/bu449