Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. Immune responses to Plasmodium falciparum malaria vary among individuals and between populations. Human genetic variation in immune system genes is likely to play a role in this heterogeneity. Natural killer (NK) cells produce inflammatory cytokines in response to malaria infection, kill intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum parasites by cytolysis, and participate in the initiation and development of adaptive immune responses to plasmodial infection. These functions are modulated by interactions between killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). Therefore, variations in KIR and HLA genes can have a direct impact on NK cell functions. Understanding the role of KIRs and HLAs in immunity to malaria can help to better characterize antimalarial immune responses. In this review, we summarize the different KIRs and HLAs associated with immunity to malaria thus far.

疟疾是世界上最致命的传染病之一。对恶性疟原虫疟疾的免疫反应在个体之间以及在人群之间是不同的。人类免疫系统基因的遗传变异可能在这种异质性中起作用。天然杀伤（NK）细胞可响应疟疾感染产生炎性细胞因子，通过溶细胞作用杀死红细胞内的恶性疟原虫，并参与针对疟原虫感染的适应性免疫反应的启动和发展。这些功能是由杀伤细胞免疫球蛋白样受体（KIR）与人类白细胞抗原（HLA）之间的相互作用调节的。因此，KIR和HLA的差异基因可以直接影响NK细胞的功能。了解KIR和HLA在抗疟疾免疫中的作用可以帮助更好地表征抗疟疾免疫反应。在这篇综述中，我们总结了迄今为止与抗疟疾免疫有关的不同KIR和HLA。