Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33465125›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

A longitudinal study of plasma BAFF levels in mothers and their infants in Uganda, and correlations with subsets of B cells.

Caroline Rönnberg, Allan Lugaajju, Anna Nyman, Ulf Hammar, Matteo Bottai, Maximilian Julius Lautenbach, Christopher Sundling, Fred Kironde, Kristina E M Persson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 47% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Immunosuppression in Malaria: DoPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Caroline RönnbergDepartment of Microbiology, Tumor, and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Allan LugaajjuDepartment of Microbiology, Tumor, and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Anna NymanDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Ulf HammarDivision of Biostatistics, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Matteo BottaiDivision of Biostatistics, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Maximilian Julius LautenbachDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Solna, and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Christopher SundlingDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine Solna, and Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Fred KirondeMakerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Kristina E M PerssonDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2661-3115
Karolinska Institutet · SEKarolinska University Hospital · SELund University · SEIslamic University in Uganda · UG

Funding

NURTURE:Research Training and Mentoring Program for Career Development of Faculty at Makerere University College of Health SciencesD43TW010132 · FIC · MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES · PI SEWANKAMBO, NELSON K · 2015 to 2019
$4.3M
FIC NIH HHS D43 TW010132
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease with approximately half of the world's population at risk. Young children and pregnant women are hit hardest by the disease. B cells and antibodies are part of an adaptive immune response protecting individuals continuously exposed to the parasite. An infection with Plasmodium falciparum can cause dysregulation of B cell homeostasis, while antibodies are known to be key in controlling symptoms and parasitemia. BAFF is an instrumental cytokine for the development and maintenance of B cells. Pregnancy alters the immune status and renders previously clinically immune women at risk of severe malaria, potentially due to altered B cell responses associated with changes in BAFF levels. In this prospective study, we investigated the levels of BAFF in a malaria-endemic area in mothers and their infants from birth up to 9 months. We found that BAFF-levels are significantly higher in infants than in mothers. BAFF is highest in cord blood and then drops rapidly, but remains significantly higher in infants compared to mothers even at 9 months of age. We further correlated BAFF levels to P. falciparum-specific antibody levels and B cell frequencies and found a negative correlation between BAFF and both P. falciparum-specific and total proportions of IgG+ memory B cells, as well as CD27- memory B cells, indicating that exposure to both malaria and other diseases affect the development of B-cell memory and that BAFF plays a part in this. In conclusion, we have provided new information on how natural immunity against malaria is formed.

Indexed as

Antibodies, ProtozoanB-Cell Activating FactorB-LymphocytesFemaleHumansInfantLongitudinal StudiesMalaria, FalciparumMothersPlasmodium falciparumPregnancyProspective StudiesUgandaAntibodies, ProtozoanB-Cell Activating FactorTNFSF13B protein, human

Identifiers

PMID33465125
PMCPMC7815132
OpenAlexW3124882445

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.