Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe neurological complication caused by Plasmodium falciparum parasites; it is characterized by the sequestration of infected red blood cells within the cerebral microvasculature. New findings, combined with a better understanding of the central nervous system (CNS) barriers, have provided greater insight into the players and events involved in CM, including site-specific T cell responses in the human brain. Here, we review the updated roles of innate and adaptive immune responses in CM, with a focus on the role of the perivascular macrophage-endothelium unit in antigen presentation, in the vascular and perivascular compartments. We suggest that these events may be pivotal in the development of CM.
Keywords: antigen presentation; blood–brain barrier disruption; cerebral malaria; pathogenesis; perivascular macrophages.
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