Innate immunity to malaria

Malaria is a major cause of disease and death in tropical countries. A safe and effective vaccine is essential to achieve significant and sustained reductions in malaria-related morbidity and mortality. Driven by this need, research on the immunology of malaria has tended to focus on adaptive immunity. The potential for innate immune mechanisms to provide rapid protection against malaria has been largely neglected. On the basis of data from animal models, and clinical and epidemiological studies, this review considers the potential for innate immune mechanisms directed against Plasmodium parasites both to contribute to protection from malaria and to modulate adaptive immune responses.