Table 1.
Associations between plasma and CSF levels of sST2 and parasite and host response factors in children with cerebral malaria (CM) or severe malarial anemia (SMA)
| CM CSF ST2 level | CM plasma ST2 level | SMA plasma ST2 level | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | beta coefficient [95% CI] | P value | n | beta coefficient [95% CI] | P value | n | beta coefficient [95% CI] | P value | |
| Parasite burden | |||||||||
| Peripheral blood parasite density | 147 | −0.01 [−0.09, 0.07] | 0.81 | 218 | 0.05 [0.01, 0.09] | 0.02 | 193 | 0.03 [−0.02, 0.07] | 0.29 |
| Plasma PfHRP-2 level | 153 | 0.21 [0.08, 0.35] | 0.003 | 224 | 0.14 [0.07, 0.20] | <0.001 | 193 | 0.08 [0.02, 0.14] | 0.009 |
| Plasma markers of endothelial activation | |||||||||
| sICAM-1 | 140 | −0.10 [−0.24, 0.04] | 0.17 | 172 | 0.12 [0.05, 0.20] | 0.002 | 157 | 0.07 [−0.00, 0.14] | 0.06 |
| sVCAM-1 | 140 | 0.68 [0.37, 0.99] | <0.001 | 172 | 0.34 [0.16, 0.52] | <0.001 | 157 | 0.50 [0.29, 0.70] | <0.001 |
| Angiopoietin 1 | 135 | −0.19 [−0.35, -0.02] | 0.02 | 189 | −0.07 [−0.15, 0.01] | 0.07 | 154 | −0.11 [−0.22, -0.01] | 0.03 |
| Angiopoietin 2 | 135 | 0.16 [−0.05, 0.37] | 0.13 | 189 | 0.27 [0.17, 0.37] | <0.001 | 154 | 0.26 [0.16, 0.36] | <0.001 |
| Ratio Angpt1: Angpt2 | 135 | 0.20 [0.07, 0.34] | 0.003 | 189 | 0.15 [0.09, 0.21] | <0.001 | 154 | 0.21 [0.13, 0.28] | <0.001 |
| VEGF | 140 | 0.10 [−0.10, 0.30] | 0.32 | 195 | −0.06 [−0.16, 0.04] | 0.24 | 157 | −0.09 [−0.23, 0.05] | 0.21 |
| PDGF | 140 | −0.15 [−0.34, 0.04] | 0.12 | 195 | −0.11 [−0.20, -0.02] | 0.02 | 157 | −0.06 [−0.17, 0.06] | 0.32 |
| E-selectin | 140 | 0.33 [−0.10, 0.75] | 0.13 | 172 | 0.61 [0.39, 0.84] | <0.001 | 157 | 0.59 [0.35, 0.82] | <0.001 |
| P-selectin | 136 | −0.03 [−0.41, 0.34] | 0.86 | 164 | 0.55 [0.34, 0.76] | <0.001 | 90 | 0.27 [0.01, 0.54] | 0.04 |
| Von Willebrand Factor | 124 | −0.14 [−0.42, 0.14] | 0.33 | 157 | 0.12 [−0.02, 0.27] | 0.10 | 135 | 0.20 [0.04, 0.36] | 0.02 |
| Markers of neuronal injury | |||||||||
| Plasma tau level | 106 | 0.15 [−0.07, 0.38] | 0.18 | 177 | 0.16 [0.06, 0.27] | 0.003 | 153 | 0.32 [0.18, 0.47] | <0.001 |
| CSF tau level | 122 | 0.12 [−0.08, 0.32] | 0.24 | 114 | 0.21 [0.09, 0.33] | <0.001 | |||
| CSF:plasma albumin index | 131 | 0.71 [0.47, 0.95] | <0.001 | 121 | 0.18 [0.02, 0.35] | 0.03 | |||
All factors are continuous variables and were log transformed (base 10) prior to linear regression analysis. Data presented as beta coefficient and 95% CI. Corrected for multiple comparisons using Bonferroni correction within each type of marker, P<0.025 for parasite factors, P<0.005 for markers of endothelial activation, and P<0.025 for markers of neuronal injury.
Abbreviations: CM, cerebral malaria; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; SMA, severe malarial anemia; CI, confidence interval; PfHRP-2, P. falciparum histidine-rich protein; Ratio Angpt 1:Angpt 2, ratio of plasma levels of angiopoietin 1 to angiopoietin 2. See Methods for abbreviations of additional markers of endothelial activation.