Plasmodium falciparum clearance is rapid and pitting independent in immune malian children treated with artesunate for malaria

Background In Plasmodium falciparum-infected patients treated with artemisinins, parasitemia declines through so-called pitting, an innate splenic process that transforms infected red blood cells (iRBCs) into once-infected RBCs (O-iRBCs). Methods We measured pitting in 83 French travelers and 42 Malian children treated for malaria with artesunate. Results In travelers, O-iRBCs peaked at 107.7% initial parasitemia. In Malian children aged 1.5-4 years, O-iRBCs peaked at higher concentrations than in children aged 9-13 years (91.60% vs 31.95%; P =. 0097). The parasite clearance time in older children was shorter than in younger children (P =. 0001), and the decline in parasitemia in children aged 1.5-4 years often started 6 hours after treatment initiation, a lag phase generally absent in infants and older children. A 6-hour lag phase in artificial pitting of artesunate-exposed iRBCs was also observed in vitro. The proportion of iRBCs recognized by autologous immunoglobulin G (IgG) correlated with the parasite clearance time (r = -0.501; P =. 0006) and peak O-iRBC concentration (r = -0.420; P =. 0033). Conclusions Antimalarial immunity correlates with fast artemisinin-induced parasite clearance and low pitting rates. In nonimmune populations, artemisinin-induced P. falciparum clearance is related to pitting and starts after a 6-hour lag phase. In immune populations, passively and naturally acquired immune mechanisms operating faster than pitting may exist. This mechanism may mitigate the emergence of artemisinin-resistant P. falciparum in Africa.