Alleles 308A and 238A in the Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Gene Promoter Do Not Increase the Risk of Severe Malaria in Children with Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Mali

Abstract
The hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) aggravates malaria in children is supported by observations that TNF polymorphisms and high TNF levels have been associated with cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, severe malaria was not associated with polymorphisms located at positions −308A and −238A in the TNF alpha gene promoter or with a high TNF level in plasma in children from Bamako, Mali.