Cytokine Balance in Human Malaria: Does Plasmodium vivax Elicit More Inflammatory Responses than Plasmodium falciparum?

Abstract

Controlling fast-multiplying P. falciparum blood stages requires a strong inflammatory response to prevent fulminant infections, while reducing inflammation-related tissue damage with early regulatory cytokine responses may be a more cost-effective strategy in infections with the less virulent P. vivax parasite. The early induction of regulatory cytokines may be a critical mechanism protecting vivax malaria patients from severe clinical complications.