NCF1 gene and pseudogene pattern: association with parasitic infection and autoimmunity.

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