{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T17:28:07Z","timestamp":1785432487814,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779235200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at Qassim University","award":["QU-APC-2026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["QU-APC-2026"]}]},{"award":["QU-APC-2026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["QU-APC-2026"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wsfe280","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The clinical outcome is largely driven by the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. However, immunological data from Sudanese children remain limited and the diagnostic utility of cytokine biomarkers has not been formally evaluated in this population. Therefore, this study aims to compare plasma levels of IFN-\u03b3 and IL-10 among Sudanese children with severe malaria (SM), uncomplicated malaria (UM) and healthy controls (HC) and to evaluate their diagnostic accuracy using in differentiating SM from UM cases. Methods: A hospital-based case\u2013control study was conducted at Mohamed Elamin Hamid Pediatric Hospital, Omdurman, Sudan. The study enrolled 105 children (aged 3 months to 16 years) divided into three age- and sex-matched groups (n = 35 per group): SM, UM and HC. Plasma cytokines IFN-\u03b3 and IL-10 were measured by ELISA. Results: The anthropometric measurements did not differ significantly across the groups. SM was significantly associated with lower hemoglobin and markedly reduced platelet counts. Both IFN-\u03b3 and IL-10 were significantly elevated in SM versus UM and HC (p &lt; 0.001). A strong positive correlation was observed between IFN-\u03b3 and IL-10 (rho = 0.688, p &lt; 0.001) in malaria patients. Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between IL-10 and platelet count (rho = \u22120.338, p = 0.009). Both IL-10 (AUC = 0.0.720) and IFN-\u03b3 (AUC = 0.687) demonstrated moderate diagnostic performance in discriminating between SM vs. UM. Conclusions: Elevated levels of IFN-\u03b3 and IL-10 strongly associated with severe P. falciparum malaria in Sudanese children. Measuring IL-10 and IFN-\u03b3 at the time of presentation may differentiate between SM and UM cases. Further studies are needed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15103929","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T09:12:41Z","timestamp":1779268361000},"page":"3929","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Interferon-\u03b3 and Interleukin-10 Profiles Correlate with Disease Severity in Sudanese Children with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4159-9572","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tassneem Awad","family":"Hajali","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Science, College of Medicine, Sulaiman AlRajhi University, AlBukayriah 51941, Qassim, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muna Ismail Elmisbah","family":"Mekki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Sudan University for Science and Technology, Khartoum 11111, Sudan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nouralsalhin A.","family":"Alaagib","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Science, College of Medicine, Sulaiman AlRajhi University, AlBukayriyah 51941, Qassim, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0806-1628","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Islamia Ibrahim Ahmed","family":"Omer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Science, College of Medicine, Sulaiman AlRajhi University, AlBukayriah 51941, Qassim, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rabab Mahadi","family":"Yahia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Maternity and Children Hospital, Buraidah 52384, Qassim, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9269-8239","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hamdan Z.","family":"Hamdan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Qassim, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2026, March 09). 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