How Does Malaria Cause Fever?

Although the hallmark of clinical malaria is cyclic fever, how fever and inflammatory responses are induced is unclear. Recently, researchers have focused on an insoluble hemoglobin digestion product, hemozoin, which is produced at high concentration during the intraerythrocytic stage of the malaria life cycle and is released during erythrocyte rupture. In general, innate host response to microbial pathogens is mediated by stimulation of toll-like–receptor (TLR) molecules on and within host monocytic and dendritic cells. New data suggest that hemozoin specifically promotes stimulation of intracellular TLR9 by malarial DNA.

Researchers obtained synthetic hemozoin, prepared from bovine hematin, and prepared “natural” hemozoin from Plasmodium f…