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Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Methods to Increase the Sensitivity of High Resolution Melting Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Genotyping in Malaria
Published on: November 10, 2015
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 polymorphism 1562 C > T (rs3918242) associated with protection against placental malaria
Thittayil Suresh Apoorv1, Phanithi Prakash Babu2, Stefanie Meese1
1Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India; Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Medicine, Komfo Anoyke Teaching Hospital, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Abstract:
Phagocytosis of malaria pigment (hemozoin) induces increased activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, an endopeptidase involved in cytokine regulation. In this study, we examined whether a common functional MMP-9 promoter polymorphism (rs3918242) affects Plasmodium falciparum infection in pregnancy. Eighteen percent of Ghanaian primiparae carried the minor T allele. It was associated with reduced odds of placental hemozoin and of placental as well as peripheral blood parasitemia. The results indicate that a common MMP-9 polymorphism protects against placental malaria indicating that this endopeptidase is involved in susceptibility to P. falciparum.
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