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Updated: Mar 8, 2026
An In Vitro Model for Measuring Immune Responses to Malaria in the Context of HIV Co-infection
Published on: October 6, 2015
Type I Interferon in Malaria: A Balancing Act
Jason Paul Mooney1, Samuel Crocodile Wassmer1, Julius Clemence Hafalla1
1Immunology and Infection Department, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
Abstract:
Type I interferons (IFN-Is) can now be considered as the wedge that balances clinical protection to malaria. New studies recently highlighted a central role for IFN-Is in orchestrating an immunoregulatory network leading to the dampening of proinflammatory responses, expansion of type 1 regulatory (Tr1) cells, and restriction of humoral immunity during malaria blood stage infection. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) were identified as the major source of IFN-Is. Here, we integrate the findings and provide a model for the mechanisms involved.
