Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 10 3 2015 10 17 389 401 EN Marzieh JABBARZARE Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Voon Kin CHIN Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Herni TALIB Dept. of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Mun Fei YAM School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia Siti Khadijah ADAM Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Haniza HASSAN Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Roslaini ABDUL MAJID Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia,Selangor, Malaysia Che Norma MAT TAIB Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Mohamad Aris MOHD MOKLAS Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Mohamad TAUFIK HIDAYAT Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia Hasidah MOHD SIDEK School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia Rusliza BASIR Dept. of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia 2015 10 14 2015 10 14 Background: Interleukin 18 (IL-18) exerts pleiotropic roles in many inflammatory-related diseases including parasitic infection. Previous studies have demonstrated the promising therapeutic potential of modulating IL-18 bioactivity in various pathologi­cal conditions. However, its involvement during malaria infection has yet to be established. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of modulating IL-18 on the histopathological conditions of malaria infected mice. Methods: Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection in male ICR mice was used as a model for malaria infection. Modulation of IL-18 release was carried out by treat­ment of malarial mice with recombinant mouse IL-18 (rmIL-18) and recombinant mouse IL-18 Fc chimera (rmIL-18Fc) intravenously. Histopathological study and analysis were performed on major organs including brain, liver, spleen, lungs and kidney. Results: Treatment with rmIL-18Fc resulted in significant improvements on the histopathological conditions of the organs in malaria-infected mice. Conclusion: IL-18 is an important mediator of malaria pathogenesis and targeting IL-18 could prove beneficial in malaria-infected host. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/304 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/304/282