Thalassaemia trait, red blood cell age and oxidant stress: effects on Plasmodium falciparum growth and sensitivity to artemisinin

Knowledge of innate mechanisms of protection against malaria could be used to bolster the existing limited treatments. Oxidant stress may play a role in the protective mechanism and the effect of red blood cell (RBC) age has recently been recognized. This study investigated the role of oxidant stress in the protection against malaria in thalassaemic trait RBC (alpha and beta) using an experimental approach which controlled for cell age. 'Young', 'intermediate' and 'old' RBC obtained by Percoll(R) fractionation and whole blood were used to set up malaria cultures. Antioxidants (vitamin E and dithiothreitol) and prooxidants (riboflavin, menadione and artemisinin) were added to modulate oxidant stress effect. Antioxidants improved parasite growth. The degree of improvement was significantly greater with increasing RBC age (P<0.0001), and relatively greater in thalassaemic RBC (P<0.0001). Pro-oxidants had a parasiticidal effect. With the exception of the 'old' RBC fraction, the median inhibitory concentration (IC50) for riboflavin and menadione was significantly higher in normal RBC. In contrast, the IC50 for artemisinin was significantly higher in 'old' thalassaemic RBC but was similar in the 'young' and 'intermediate' fractions and whole blood. These findings suggest that oxidant stress plays a role in mediating the protection against malaria in thalassaemic RBC. Vitamin E and other antioxidant supplementation could feasibly exacerbate clinical malaria. Conversely, pro-oxidant agents could act as useful adjuvants to therapy. It is important to confirm the reduced sensitivity to artemisinin in 'old' thalassaemic trait RBC, as such an effect may promote selective pressure for the emergence of resistant parasite strains with widespread use of artemisinin.