Genetic Trade-Off — Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or Cerebral Malaria

In Africa, malaria kills nearly 1 million children annually. The high death rate has exerted extreme selective pressure for gene variants that protect against severe malaria (e.g., the sickle cell beta-globin gene mutation), even though they might have other, deleterious effects. Noting that the prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is six- to eightfold greater in women of African descent living outside Africa than in women of European descent, researchers wondered whether genetic factors that contribute to the development of SLE might protect against severe malaria. They tested this concept in a model involving strains of mice that are genetically predisposed to develop SLE because of a deficiency of the inhibitory receptor FcγR…