Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33211774›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

The DARC-null trait is associated with moderate modulation of NK cell profiles and unaltered cytolytic T cell profiles in black South Africans.

Kewreshini K Naidoo, Zesuliwe B Shangase, Tabassum Rashid, Ayanda Ngubane, Nasreen Ismail, Thumbi Ndung'u, Christina F Thobakgale

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 46% 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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The African-Specific Variant in the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines Gene, CD8+ T-Cell Density, and Aggressive Breast Cancer Subtypes in Black Women.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Kewreshini K NaidooHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Zesuliwe B ShangaseHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Tabassum RashidHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Ayanda NgubaneHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Nasreen IsmailHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Thumbi Ndung'uHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Christina F ThobakgaleHIV Pathogenesis Programme, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-5619-8894
University of KwaZulu-Natal · ZARagon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard · USUniversity of the Witwatersrand · ZA

Funding

Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust 107752/Z/15/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC)-null trait, common among persons of African descent and associated with lower absolute neutrophil counts (ANCs), may be linked to increased risk to certain infections including HIV-1 but the underlying causes are poorly understood. We hypothesized that DARC-null-linked neutropenia may negatively impact neutrophil immunoregulatory modulation of other immune cells such as natural killer (NK) and CD8+ T cells leading to altered phenotype, functionality and homeostatic activity of these immune cells. HIV-1 uninfected (n = 20) and HIV-1 chronically infected (n = 19) participants were assessed using multi-parametric flow cytometry to determine NK and CD8+ T cell counts, phenotypic profiles, and cytokine production and degranulation. Annexin V and carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) staining were used to examine NK cell survival and NK cell and CD8+ T cell proliferation respectively. Participants were genotyped for the DARC-null polymorphism using allelic discrimination assays and ANCs were measured by full blood count. In HIV uninfected individuals, a reduction of total NK cell counts was noted in the absence of DARC and this correlated with lower ANCs. HIV uninfected DARC-null subjects displayed a less mature NK cell phenotype. However, this did not translate to differences in NK cell activation or effector functionality by DARC state. Whilst HIV-1 infected subjects displayed NK cell profiling that is typical of HIV infection, no differences were noted upon DARC stratification. Similarly, CD8+ T cells from HIV infected individuals displayed phenotypic and functional modulation that is characteristic of HIV infection, but profiling was unaffected by the DARC-null variant irrespective of HIV status. Overall, the data suggests that the DARC-null polymorphism and lower ANCs does not impede downstream cytolytic cell priming and functionality.

Indexed as

Polymorphism, Single NucleotideAnti-HIV AgentsBlack PeopleCell DivisionCell SurvivalCytokinesDuffy Blood-Group SystemFemaleGenotypeHIV-1HIV InfectionsHumansImmunophenotypingKiller Cells, NaturalLymphocyte CountMaleACKR1 protein, humanAnti-HIV AgentsCytokinesDuffy Blood-Group SystemReceptors, Cell Surface

Identifiers

PMID33211774
PMCPMC7676658
OpenAlexW3099647680

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.