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Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access originally published online on May 21, 2009
Human Molecular Genetics 2009 18(16):3136-3144; doi:10.1093/hmg/ddp240
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

A variant in the gene FUT9 is associated with susceptibility to placental malaria infection

Martin Sikora1, Anna Ferrer-Admetlla1, Hafid Laayouni1,2, Clara Menendez3,4, Alfredo Mayor3,4, Azucena Bardaji3,4, Betuel Sigauque4, Inacio Mandomando4, Pedro L. Alonso3,4, Jaume Bertranpetit1,2,* and Ferran Casals1,{dagger}

1 Institute of Evolutionary Biology (UPF-CSIC), CEXS-UPF-PRBB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 2 CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain 3 Barcelona Center for International Health Research (CRESIB), Hospital Clinic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomedicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Universtitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain 4 The Manhiça Health Research Center (CISM), Manhiça, Mozambique

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. +34 933160845; Fax: +34 933160901; Email: jaume.bertranpetit{at}upf.edu

Received February 19, 2009; Revised May 8, 2009; Accepted May 19, 2009

Malaria in pregnancy forms a substantial part of the worldwide burden of malaria, with an estimated annual death toll of up to 200 000 infants, as well as increased maternal morbidity and mortality. Studies of genetic susceptibility to malaria have so far focused on infant malaria, with only a few studies investigating the genetic basis of placental malaria, focusing only on a limited number of candidate genes. The aim of this study therefore was to identify novel host genetic factors involved in placental malaria infection. To this end we carried out a nested case–control study on 180 Mozambican pregnant women with placental malaria infection, and 180 controls within an intervention trial of malaria prevention. We genotyped 880 SNPs in a set of 64 functionally related genes involved in glycosylation and innate immunity. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the gene FUT9, rs3811070, was significantly associated with placental malaria infection (odds ratio = 2.31, permutation P-value=0.028). Haplotypic analysis revealed a similarly strong association of a common haplotype of four SNPs including rs3811070. FUT9 codes for a fucosyl-transferase that is catalyzing the last step in the biosynthesis of the Lewis-x antigen, which forms part of the Lewis blood group-related antigens. These results therefore suggest an involvement of this antigen in the pathogenesis of placental malaria infection.

{dagger} Present address: Centre de Recherche, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3T 1C5, Canada.


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