Abstract:
Abstract
Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive B-cell lymphoma that remains a leading
cause of childhood cancer mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the epidemiolog-
ical link between Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria and BL has been established,
our understanding of the underlying immunological mechanisms conducive to tum-
origenesis is incomplete. To address a noted gap in our knowledge of the immune
landscape, we conducted a prospective study to profile neutrophil subsets from chil-
dren with different exposure histories to Pf-malaria and children diagnosed with BL
from Western Kenya, along with healthy malaria low-exposed Kenyan adults. Using
multiparameter flow cytometry, we characterized neutrophils by expression of CD15,
CD16, CD10, CD11b, CD182, CD184, and CD62L and found that malaria-exposed
children exhibited increased frequencies of aged neutrophil subsets, accompanied by
a reduction in the mature active subset frequencies compared to malaria low-
exposed children. Notably, a positive correlation (rs = 0.7; p < 0.0001) was observed
in immature neutrophils between malaria-exposed healthy and BL children, revealing
a possible similar expansion of this subset in both groups. These findings suggest
a malaria-associated expansion of the immature neutrophil subset. While functional
assays were not performed in this study, previous reports indicate that immature
neutrophils can exhibit tumor-promoting functions. Therefore, the observed shift in
neutrophil profiles may reflect phenotypic changes associated with malaria exposure
that could contribute to a permissive environment for BL
