Parasite Biomass-Related Inflammation, Endothelial Activation, Microvascular Dysfunction and Disease Severity in Vivax Malaria

Abstract

Plasmodium vivax can cause severe malaria, however its pathogenesis is poorly understood. In contrast to P. falciparum, circulating vivax parasitemia is low, with minimal apparent sequestration in endothelium-lined microvasculature, and pathogenesis thought unrelated to parasite biomass. However, the relationships between vivax disease-severity and total parasite biomass, endothelial autocrine activation and microvascular dysfunction are unknown. We measured circulating parasitemia and markers of total parasite biomass (plasma parasite lactate dehydrogenase [pLDH] and PvLDH) in adults with severe (n = 9) and non-severe (n = 53) vivax malaria, and examined relationships with disease-severity, endothelial activation, and microvascular function. Healthy controls and adults with non-severe and severe falciparum malaria were enrolled for comparison. Median peripheral parasitemia, PvLDH and pLDH were 2.4-fold, 3.7-fold and 6.9-fold higher in severe compared to non-severe vivax malaria (p = 0.02, p = 0.02 and p = 0.015, respectively), suggesting that, as in falciparum malaria, peripheral P. vivax parasitemia underestimates total parasite biomass, particularly in severe disease. P. vivax schizonts were under-represented in peripheral blood. Severe vivax malaria was associated with increased angiopoietin-2 and impaired microvascular reactivity. Peripheral vivax parasitemia correlated with endothelial activation (angiopoietin-2, von-Willebrand-Factor [VWF], E-selectin), whereas markers of total vivax biomass correlated only with systemic inflammation (IL-6, IL-10). Activity of the VWF-cleaving-protease, ADAMTS13, was deficient in proportion to endothelial activation, IL-6, thrombocytopenia and vivax disease-severity, and associated with impaired microvascular reactivity in severe disease. Impaired microvascular reactivity correlated with lactate in severe vivax malaria. Findings suggest that tissue accumulation of P. vivax may occur, with the hidden biomass greatest in severe disease and capable of mediating systemic inflammatory pathology. The lack of association between total parasite biomass and endothelial activation is consistent with accumulation in parts of the circulation devoid of endothelium. Endothelial activation, associated with circulating parasites, and systemic inflammation may contribute to pathology in vivax malaria, with microvascular dysfunction likely contributing to impaired tissue perfusion.

Author Summary

How vivax parasites cause severe malaria is not known. In contrast to falciparum parasites, the number of vivax parasites circulating in peripheral blood is low, and there is thought to be little sequestration of parasitized red cells within endothelium-lined small blood vessels in vital organs. Total parasite burden (circulating plus hidden) and activation and dysfunction of the endothelial cells lining blood vessels all contribute to severe disease in falciparum malaria, but have not been evaluated in severe vivax malaria. We measured parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) and P. vivax-pLDH (PvLDH) as proxies of total parasite biomass and found that, as in falciparum malaria, the total biomass of vivax parasites is underestimated by counting parasites circulating in peripheral blood, suggesting a hidden burden of vivax parasites. Markers of total vivax biomass were strongly associated with illness-severity and inflammatory cytokines, suggesting that this hidden burden is capable of contributing to generalised inflammation and hence severe disease. Number of peripheral vivax parasites, but not total biomass, correlated with activation of endothelial cells, suggesting that the hidden vivax-infected red cells may accumulate in parts of organs without endothelium, such as the slow-circulation of the spleen or non-blood-vessel parts of the bone marrow. Severe vivax malaria was associated with increased endothelial activation and impaired microvascular function, suggesting that these processes also contribute to impaired blood flow and disease.