Fig. 2

Potential links between human severe malaria physiopathology and miRNAs: a proposed model. Upon infection with P. falciparum, infected liver cells or tissues affected by parasite sequestration, such as the placenta, bone marrow or the brain, may produce tissue-specific miRNAs that are released to blood circulation. Detection of such miRNAs may allow discriminating between infected individuals with significant parasite sequestration and those in whom parasitaemia is unrelated to the cause of severity, and guide effective therapy. miRNAs might also be the basis for new diagnostic tools to predict malaria infections at risk of progression to severe disease, or of those asymptomatic infections that may progress to symptomatic malaria. Finally, miRNAs could be informative of the presence of parasites hidden in the liver (P. vivax or P. ovale hypnozoites)