Synchronic macrophage response and Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Human Chitotriosidase (CHIT), produced by activated macrophage, is a member of the chitinase family, a group of enzymes with the capability to hydrolyze chitin1. Recently plasma CHIT activity was found elevated in children with acute P. falciparum malaria compared with healthy African children, as a consequence of macrophage activation due to the presence of parasites2. In this study we recruited at the local Centre Medical Saint Camille (CMSC) of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, 62 African children (30 males and 32 females, aged 2–140 months; median 16.5 months), affected by acute P. falciparum malaria, born and living in Burkina Faso. Control subjects included 140 healthy African children (79 males and 61 females) with age ranging from 10 to 100 months (median 22 months) at evaluation time. They did not show signs of acute infectious disease and their blood smears for P. falciparum were negative. This study was approved by the local Ethical Committees of CMSC. Parents of the participating children in the study were orally informed of the scope of this research. For plasma CHIT assay, 3 ml of EDTA-blood was centrifuged and plasma samples were stored at –40°C until determination by fluorimetric method3 at the Centre for Metabolic Diseases— University of Catania, Italy.