Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29361940›Full record

ArticleMalaria journal2018

Plasmodium falciparum genetic variation of var2csa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Robert Verity, Nicholas J Hathaway, Andreea Waltmann, Stephanie M Doctor, Oliver J Watson, Jaymin C Patel, Kashamuka Mwandagalirwa, Antoinette K Tshefu, Jeffrey A Bailey, Azra C Ghani and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Malaria journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 10% 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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. VAR2CSA-Mediated Host Defense Evasion ofFrontiers in immunology · 2020
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
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

12 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Robert VerityMedical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis & Modelling, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK. r.verity@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3902-8567
Nicholas J HathawayProgram in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, USA.
Andreea WaltmannInstitute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Stephanie M DoctorDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Oliver J WatsonMedical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis & Modelling, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Jaymin C PatelDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Kashamuka MwandagalirwaKinshasa School of Public Health, Hôpital General Provincial de Reference de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Antoinette K TshefuCommunity Health, Kinshasa School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Jeffrey A BaileyProgram in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, USA.
Azra C GhaniMedical Research Council Centre for Outbreak Analysis & Modelling, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Jonathan J JulianoDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
Steven R MeshnickDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · USImperial College London · GBUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · USKinshasa General Hospital · CDUniversity of Kinshasa · CD

Funding

Variation in Resistance and Fitness to Artemisinins in African MalariaR01AI121558 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI JULIANO, JONATHAN J · 2016 to 2020
$3.3M
Epidemiological and Spatial Models of Malaria TransmissionR01AI107949 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI MESHNICK, STEVEN RICHARD · 2014 to 2018
$2.5M
Human copy number polymorphism and severe malariaR01AI099473 · NIAID · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · PI BAILEY, JEFFREY A. · 2012 to 2015
$2.3M
Diversity and Phenotype of Artemisinin Resistance Mutations in Central AfricaR21AI121465 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI JULIANO, JONATHAN J · 2016 to 2017
$438k
Genetic and functional studies of var2csa in placental malariaR56AI106129 · NIAID · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI MESHNICK, STEVEN RICHARD · 2014 to 2014
$318k
Medical Research Council MR/N01507X/1Medical Research Council MR/R015600/1NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI099473NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI107949NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI121558NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI121465NIAID NIH HHS R56 AI106129NIH HHS 5 R01 AI099473NIH HHS 5R01AI107949NIH HHS R01AI121558NIH HHS R21AI121465NIH HHS R56 AI106129 01A1Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 109312/Z/15/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) bears a high burden of malaria, which is exacerbated in pregnant women. The VAR2CSA protein plays a crucial role in pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM), and hence quantifying diversity at the var2csa locus in the DRC is important in understanding the basic epidemiology of PAM, and in developing a robust vaccine against PAM.

methodsSamples were taken from the 2013-14 Demographic and Health Survey conducted in the DRC, focusing on children under 5 years of age. A short subregion of the var2csa gene was sequenced in 115 spatial clusters, giving country-wide estimates of sequence polymorphism and spatial population structure.

resultsResults indicate that var2csa is highly polymorphic, and that diversity is being maintained through balancing selection, however, there is no clear signal of phylogenetic or geographic structure to this diversity. Linear modelling demonstrates that the number of var2csa variants in a cluster correlates directly with cluster prevalence, but not with other epidemiological factors such as urbanicity.

conclusionsResults suggest that the DRC fits within the global pattern of high var2csa diversity and little genetic differentiation between regions. A broad multivalent VAR2CSA vaccine candidate could benefit from targeting stable regions and common variants to address the substantial genetic diversity.

Indexed as

Genetic VariationAntigens, ProtozoanChild, PreschoolCluster AnalysisCross-Sectional StudiesDemocratic Republic of the CongoHumansInfantInfant, NewbornPlasmodium falciparumPrevalenceSequence Analysis, DNASpatial AnalysisAntigens, ProtozoanVAR2CSA protein, Plasmodium falciparum

Identifiers

PMID29361940
PMCPMC5782373
OpenAlexW2798090365

What OpenQuestion 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 OpenQuestion graph.