Abstract:
Background: Deficiencies in vitamins and mineral elements are important causes of morbidity in developing
countries, possibly because they lead to defective immune responses to infection. The aim of the study was to assess
the effects of mineral element deficiencies on early innate cytokine responses to Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 304 Tanzanian children aged 6-72 months were stimulated with P.
falciparum-parasitized erythrocytes obtained from in vitro cultures.
Results: The results showed a significant increase by 74% in geometric mean of TNF production in malaria-infected
individuals with zinc deficiency (11% to 240%; 95% CI). Iron deficiency anaemia was associated with increased TNF
production in infected individuals and overall with increased IL-10 production, while magnesium deficiency induced
increased production of IL-10 by 46% (13% to 144%) in uninfected donors. All donors showed a response towards IL-1β
production, drawing special attention for its possible protective role in early innate immune responses to malaria.
Conclusions: In view of these results, the findings show plasticity in cytokine profiles of mononuclear cells reacting to
malaria infection under conditions of different micronutrient deficiencies. These findings lay the foundations for future
inclusion of a combination of precisely selected set of micronutrients rather than single nutrients as part of malaria
vaccine intervention programmes in endemic countries.
