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No variation in the prevalence of point mutations in the Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genes in isolates from Gabonese patients with uncomplicated or severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria

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Abstract

In Lambaréné (Gabon), where a high level of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to chloroquine has been reported, we assessed the relationship between polymorphisms in the P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (Pfcrt) and multidrug resistance-1 (Pfmdr1) genes and the clinical severity of malaria. Ninety-one and 60 P. falciparum isolates from children with uncomplicated or severe malaria were collected in 1996 and 2002, respectively. Single nucleotide mutations at codon 76 in the Pfcrt gene and at codons 86, 184, 1034, 1042, and 1246 in the Pfmdr1 gene were assessed by PCR-RFLP. All P. falciparum isolates presented the Pfcrt K76T mutation, whatever the clinical status. A high prevalence (>80%) of the Pfmdr1 86Tyr and 184Phe mutations was detected at both time points and in both clinical groups. We did not identify any specific mutation in the Pfmdr1 gene associated with the severity of disease, and the multiplicity of P. falciparum infection was also similar in both groups. Our results showed no change in the polymorphism of Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genes in P. falciparum isolates collected in 1996 and 2002, and the severity of the disease was not associated with specific mutations neither in the Pfcrt nor in the Pfmdr1 genes in the study site.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the children who participated in this study and to the staff of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital for their cooperation. We thank Dr. Jürgen F. Kun for his advice, Dr. Adrian Luty for his critical reading of the manuscript, and Dr. Bertrand Lell for the statistical analysis. PIM was a fellow of Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD). FN received financial support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and is a member of the MIMPAC network. This study received financial support under the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) project A30031 through the UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest with any company or organisation.

Author’s contribution

Pembe Issamou Mayengue was involved in the study design, responsible for the analysis of malaria parasites, analysis and interpretation of the data and for writing the paper.

Dr. Francine Ntoumi was involved in the supervision of the study, analysis and interpretation of the data, and writing the manuscript.

Dr. Saadou Issifou was involved in the study design and was responsible for the blood collection.

Prof. Peter G. Kremsner contributed to the study design and to the critical revision of the manuscript.

Yvonne Kalmbach was involved in the analysis of malaria parasites and in drafting the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Francine Ntoumi.

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Mayengue, P.I., Kalmbach, Y., Issifou, S. et al. No variation in the prevalence of point mutations in the Pfcrt and Pfmdr1 genes in isolates from Gabonese patients with uncomplicated or severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Parasitol Res 100, 487–493 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0287-8

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