Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42446379›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of infectious diseases2026

Afucosylated VAR2CSA-Specific IgG Reduces Risks of Placental Malaria.

Honghua Ding, Oscar H Lloyd Williams, Maria Saeed, Wina Hasang, Bruce D Wines, Mary Lopez-Perez, Maria Del Pilar Quintana, Lars Hviid, Adam Wheatley, Mwayiwawo Madanitsa and 6 more

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Article in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Honghua DingDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9738-5423
Oscar H Lloyd WilliamsDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0009-0002-5638-7569
Maria SaeedDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Wina HasangDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Bruce D WinesImmune Therapies Group, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4108-375X
Mary Lopez-PerezCentre for Translational Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-9876-0248
Maria Del Pilar QuintanaCentre for Translational Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0001-6190-3324
Lars HviidCentre for Translational Medicine and Parasitology, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-1698-4927
Adam WheatleyDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5593-9387
Mwayiwawo MadanitsaDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Academy of Medical Sciences, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Limbe, Malawi.
Victor MwapasaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0002-2748-8902
Kamija S PhiriDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre, Malawi.ORCID 0000-0003-1753-2727
Feiko O Ter KuileDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-3663-5617
Nichollas ScottDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2556-8316
Elizabeth H AitkenDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2677-6208
Stephen J RogersonDepartment of Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne, The Peter Doherty Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4287-1982

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council 2020606
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAntibody Fc regions have important roles in clearance of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. One such role is engagement with Fcγ receptors on host leukocytes. In the case of FcγRIIIa and b, this interaction is greatly enhanced when the IgG glycan is afucosylated.

methodsIn this study, we used a fucose-sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (FEASI) to assess afucosylation in IgG specific for placental malaria protein VAR2CSA from n = 139 malaria-exposed pregnant Malawian women, correlating these data with mass spectrometry-based analysis. Furthermore, we measured the effect of afucosylation on Fc-mediated leukocyte functions, using both plasma and a monoclonal antibody, PAM2.8, with varying levels of afucosylation.

resultsThere were significantly higher levels of VAR2CSA-specific IgG afucosylation in women with no placental malaria measured by FEASI (P < .0001), which correlated strongly with mass spectrometry analysis (R = 0.8, P < .0001). In addition, highly afucosylated IgG mediated significantly greater neutrophil phagocytosis of antigen-coated beads and induction of NK cell degranulation by infected erythrocytes.

conclusionsAfucosylated IgG to VAR2CSA, measured by FEASI or mass spectrometry, was a correlate of protection from placental malaria, and afucosylated IgG activated NK cells and neutrophils. Naturally acquired or therapeutic afucosylated IgG antibody could have a role in protection from malaria infection.

Indexed as

Antibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanImmunoglobulin GMalaria, FalciparumPlasmodium falciparumPregnancy Complications, ParasiticAdultEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayErythrocytesFemaleFucoseHumansKiller Cells, NaturalMalawiMass SpectrometryPhagocytosisAntibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanFucoseImmunoglobulin GReceptors, IgGVAR2CSA protein, Plasmodium falciparumADCCADNPFc-afucosylationFcγRIIIamass spectrometryPfEMP1VAR2CSA

Identifiers

PMID42446379
PMCPMC13668340

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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.