Fig. 4

PfEMP1 (domain) exposure in acute infection does not affect seroreactivity to corresponding antigen(s) in convalescence. a Volcano plots displaying inverse unadjusted P-values (y-axis) comparing the change in IgG, IgM seroreactivity to P. falciparum and PfEMP1 antigens in convalescence (x-axis; points to the right of 0 indicate greater reactivity in convalescence). While IgM declines in a classical fashion in convalescence for both total and PfEMP1 specific antigens, IgG responses to PfEMP1 antigens are not mounted in convalescence. Red dashed lines represent unadjusted P-value of 0.05. Points above the line have significant unadjusted P values, but only red bold points are significant after adjustment for the false discovery rate. b Magnitude of responses to PfEMP1 antigens is displayed in boxplots with overlaid data points by CIDR-specific binding group for Ret + CM cases (dark grey) and uncomplicated malaria (light grey). Seroreactivity in acute infection is lowest to EPCR-binding domains and ICAM-1 binding domains linked to EPCR. Children with exposure to these antigens as determined by qRT-PCR do not mount responses to these antigens in convalescence. Red lines indicate seroreactivity (R) = 1, where R > 1 indicates a seropositive response. c Volcano plot of linear regression effect estimates (x-axis) for the independent variable of exposure (Y/N) in the exposure models generated for PfEMP1 domains amplified by qRT-PCR from acute samples indicates that exposure in acute infection does not correlate with seroreactivity to the corresponding antigen in convalescence