{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,13]],"date-time":"2026-03-13T03:02:28Z","timestamp":1773370948400,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773273600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Belgium cooperation","award":["FA4 2017-2021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FA4 2017-2021"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000780","name":"European Union","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FP7-Health-F3-305662"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FP7-Health-F3-305662"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000780","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In malaria-endemic regions, women remain vulnerable to Plasmodium falciparum infection at the time of delivery. However, the immunological mechanisms underlying infection-associated inflammation in primigravid women remain poorly characterized. This exploratory study investigated cytokine-based immune profiles reflecting malaria infection status at delivery. We assessed 33 primigravid women from Nanoro, Burkina Faso (mean age 19 years; range 18\u201320.5) at childbirth. Antibody responses to P. falciparum antigens (PfCSP, PfAMA-1, and EBA-175) and plasma levels of cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-6, TNF-\u03b1, and IFN-\u03b3) were quantified using enzyme immunoassays. Multivariate analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering, identified three distinct immune profiles: (1) a low-inflammatory cluster with reduced IL-6 and TNF-\u03b1, (2) a TNF-\u03b1\u2013dominant cluster, and (3) a highly pro-inflammatory cluster with elevated IL-6 and TNF-\u03b1. Cluster stability was supported by bootstrap analysis (AU \u2265 92%). All women in the most inflammatory cluster were P. falciparum\u2013positive at delivery (Fisher\u2019s exact test, p = 0.04; exploratory association). These cytokine-driven profiles reflect biologically distinct inflammatory states associated with concurrent infection at delivery rather than predictive immune predispositions. The findings underscore the potential of cytokine profiling as a hypothesis-generating tool to guide future longitudinal studies on immune regulation and the postpartum period.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed11030080","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T14:46:31Z","timestamp":1773326791000},"page":"80","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cytokine-Driven Immune Phenotypes at Delivery as Indicators of Malaria Infection Among Primigravidae in Burkina Faso: An Exploratory Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1873-6473","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ousmane","family":"Traore","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0594-3887","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Toussaint","family":"Rouamba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4458-2025","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Serge Henri","family":"Zango","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1595-5152","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hermann","family":"Sorgho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Innocent","family":"Valea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0519-4727","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maminata","family":"Traore-Coulibaly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7096-6279","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Henk D. F. H.","family":"Schallig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory for Experimental Parasitology, Department of Medical Microbiology, and Infection Prevention, Amsterdam University Medical Center, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, 1105 BP Amsterdam, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0472-3586","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Halidou","family":"Tinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sant\u00e9, Unit\u00e9 de Recherche Clinique de Nanoro (IRSS-URCN), Nanoro BP 18, Koudougou 40400, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO (2024, October 28). World Malaria Report 2023. 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