Two complement receptor one alleles have opposing associations with cerebral malaria and interact with α+thalassaemia
Abstract
Malaria has been a major driving force in the evolution of the human genome. In sub-Saharan African populations, two neighbouring polymorphisms in the Complement Receptor One (CR1) gene, named Sl2 and McCb, occur at high frequencies, consistent with selection by malaria. Previous studies have been inconclusive. Using a large case-control study of severe malaria in Kenyan children and statistical models adjusted for confounders, we estimate the relationship between Sl2 and McCb and malaria phenotypes, and find they have opposing associations. The Sl2 polymorphism is associated with markedly reduced odds of cerebral malaria and death, while the McCb polymorphism is associated with increased odds of cerebral malaria. We also identify an apparent interaction between Sl2 and α+thalassaemia, with the protective association of Sl2 greatest in children with normal α-globin. The complex relationship between these three mutations may explain previous conflicting findings, highlighting the importance of considering genetic interactions in disease-association studies.
Data availability
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MalariaGEN Consortial Project 1Application for access to data: https://www.malariagen.net/data/terms-use/human-gwas-data.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Wellcome Trust (Senior Research Fellowship 091758)
- Thomas Williams
Wellcome Trust (Senior Research Fellowship202800)
- Thomas Williams
Wellcome Trust (Senior Research Fellowship084226)
- J Alexandra Rowe
Wellcome Trust (203077)
- D Herbert Opi
Wellcome Trust (84538)
- D Herbert Opi
Wellcome Trust (101910/Z/13/Z)
- Olivia Swann
Medical Research Council (G19/9)
- Dominic P Kwiatkowski
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Madhukar Pai, McGill University, Canada
Ethics
Human subjects: This work involved analysing blood samples from patients with malaria and from healthy controls. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents or legal guardians of all participants. The Kenyan studies received ethical approval from the Kenya Medical Research Institute National Ethical Review Committee (approval number SCC1192 for the case-control study and SCC3149 for the longitudinal cohort study), and the Malian studies received ethical approval from the University of Bamako and the University of Maryland (approval number #0899139), and were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Version history
- Received: August 27, 2017
- Accepted: April 1, 2018
- Accepted Manuscript published: April 25, 2018 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: May 15, 2018 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2018, Opi et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Further reading
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- Epidemiology and Global Health
Background:
Circulating omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been associated with various chronic diseases and mortality, but results are conflicting. Few studies examined the role of omega-6/omega-3 ratio in mortality.
Methods:
We investigated plasma omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs and their ratio in relation to all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a large prospective cohort, the UK Biobank. Of 85,425 participants who had complete information on circulating PUFAs, 6461 died during follow-up, including 2794 from cancer and 1668 from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Associations were estimated by multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression with adjustment for relevant risk factors.
Results:
Risk for all three mortality outcomes increased as the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 PUFAs increased (all Ptrend <0.05). Comparing the highest to the lowest quintiles, individuals had 26% (95% CI, 15–38%) higher total mortality, 14% (95% CI, 0–31%) higher cancer mortality, and 31% (95% CI, 10–55%) higher CVD mortality. Moreover, omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs in plasma were all inversely associated with all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality, with omega-3 showing stronger effects.
Conclusions:
Using a population-based cohort in UK Biobank, our study revealed a strong association between the ratio of circulating omega-6/omega-3 PUFAs and the risk of all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality.
Funding:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institute of Health under the award number R35GM143060 (KY). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.