Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Department of General Neurology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. bernhard.greve@uni-tuebingen.de
BACKGROUND: Neutrophil cytosolic factor 1, p47phox (NCF1) is a component of the leukocyte NADPH oxidase complex mediating formation of reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) which play an important role in host defense and autoimmunity. An individual genomic pattern of ncf1 and its two types of pseudogenes (reflected by the DeltaGT/GTGT ratio) may influence the individual capacity to produce ROI. METHODS: NCF1DeltaGT/GTGT ratios were correlated with clinical parameters and ROI production during Plasmodium falciparum malaria and with susceptibility to the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). RESULTS: Among Gabonese children with severe malaria, ROI production from peripheral blood tended to be higher in individuals with a DeltaGT/GTGT ratio </= 1:1. DeltaGT/GTGT ratios were not associated with susceptibility to MS, but to age-of-onset among MS patients. CONCLUSION: The genomic pattern of NCF1 and its pseudogenes might influence ROI production but only marginally influence susceptibility to and outcome of malaria and MS.