- NEW DELHI — US
researchers have uncovered the role of Plasmodium falciparum -- a parasitic
protozoan that causes malaria -- in the development of Burkitt lymphoma (BL),
the most common childhood cancer.
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- BL is a cancer that affects B cells -- an important cell of
the immune system that produces antibodies. It has been associated with P.
falciparum malaria since 1958, but the underlying mechanism of how this leads
to cancer has remained a mystery.
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- While BL is a rare cancer globally, (found more in
equatorial Africa and New Guinea) its prevalence is 10 times higher in areas
with a consistent presence of P. falciparum malaria.
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- Five different species of Plasmodium can cause malaria in
humans, but only P. falciparum is associated with BL.
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- “Knowing that malaria has a direct role in increasing
childhood cancer risk means that measures to reduce the burden of P. falciparum
malaria could also reduce the incidence of Burkitt lymphoma,” said Dr. Rosemary
Rochford, Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of
Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine.
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- The study, published in The Journal of Immunology, found
significant elevated expression of an enzyme called AID (activation-induced
cytidine deaminase) in B cells during P. falciparum malarial infection in
children.
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- Further, they found that a hallmark of BL is the
translocation of a gene called MYC -- a genetic mutation where DNA breaks off
one chromosome and attaches to another.
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- The enzyme AID is essential for MYC translocation, which is
why its presence in malaria patients indicates P. falciparum malaria’s role in
BL, said the team.
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- For the study, they assessed blood from children with
uncomplicated malaria for AID levels and compared them to children without
malaria.
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- Uncomplicated malaria is when a patient’s symptoms are
non-specific, including fever, chills, sweating, headache, nausea, and/or
vomiting, without signs of severe organ dysfunction.
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- AID was significantly elevated in B cells of children with
uncomplicated malaria and found to be fully functional. The functionality of
the excess AID also supports the role of P. falciparum in causing BL.
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- “This study adds to the body of literature pointing to a
critical role of the enzyme, AID, in the aetiology of Burkitt lymphoma and
potentially in other non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas,” Rochford said.
