Entire expressed transcriptome in whole blood from children with Plasmodium falciparum infections.. Homo sapiens

Severe, life-threatening malaria presents acutely with various clinical symptoms such as impaired consciousness, convulsions, anemia, respiratory distress, and more. Finding shared gene pathways or networks that explain these diverse symptoms has been challenging because different biological processes might not have common shared networks. The overall goal of the project is to identify critical gene pathways within the transcriptome that mediate disease severity in children with acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Specifically, we aim to determine how gene pathways and networks promote the development of severe malarial anemia. This study is comparing the entire expressed transcriptome captured in whole blood from children with severe malarial anemia [SMA, hemoglobin 6.0 g/dL in the presence of P. falciparum in peripheral blood (any density)].