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High levels of interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor are found in both cases of malaria and cases of septic shock. Since both interleukin 1 and tumor necrosis factor induce expression of the proinflammatory enzyme phospholipase A2 (PLA2), we examined serum PLA2 levels in 14 adults with malaria. Mean serum PLA2 activity was elevated 40-fold above normal (P less than 0.001). Serum PLA2 activity correlated with PLA2 immunoreactivity (r = 0.987; P less than 0.001) by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific for human group II PLA2, showing that serum PLA2 in cases of malaria is host derived. This article describes the novel finding of elevated PLA2 levels in cases of malaria, further strengthening the notion that mediators of the host response in cases of malaria are similar to those in cases of septic shock.

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