Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 54, 114-116, 2001

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Short Communication

Absence of Association between the Allele Coding Methionine at Position 29 in the N-terminal Domain of ICAM-1 (ICAM-1^Kilifi) and Severe Malaria in the Northwest of Thailand

Jun Ohashi*, Izumi Naka, Jintana Patarapotikul¹, Hathairad Hananantachai¹, Sornchai Looareesuwan¹ and Katsushi Tokunaga

Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan and ¹Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, 420/6 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

(Received June 6, 2001. Accepted July 27, 2001)

SUMMARY: Intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) is known to be the endothelial receptor for Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Associations of the variant allele coding methionine at position 29 in the N-terminal domain of ICAM-1, ICAM-1^Kilifi, with severe malaria have been investigated in African populations, and the results of these investigations have varied widely. In this study, we investigated a possible association between the ICAM-1^Kilifi and severe malaria in adult malaria patients living in northwest Thailand. The frequencies of the ICAM-1^Kilifi among patients with mild malaria, with non-cerebral severe malaria, and with cerebral malaria were 1.7%, 2.7%, and 2.3%, respectively. This variant showed neither positive nor negative association with severe malaria in Thailand.

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