Association between Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines expression and levels of inflammation markers in sickle cell anemia patients

Since inflammation plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and Duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (DARC) modulates the function of inflammatory processes, we analyzed the relationship between the erythrocyte DARC phenotype and clinical expression of SCA. DARC locus was genotyped in 212 SS adult patients followed by the sickle cell center of Guadeloupe (French West Indies). After patients' stratification according to RBC DARC expression, the prevalence of renal disease, leg ulcers, priapism and osteonecrosis was compared between patient groups as well as hematological variables and plasma levels of chemokines. Duffy-positive patients exhibited higher counts of white blood cells (9.95 ± 2.36 vs 8.88 ± 2.32 109/L, p = 0.0066), polynuclear neutrophils (5.1 ± 1.73 vs 4.51 ± 1.71 109/L, p = 0.0227), higher plasma levels of IL-8 (4.46 ± 1.22 vs 1.47 ± 0.5 pg/mL, p = 0.0202) and RANTES (27.8 ± 4.3 vs 18.1 ± 2.3 ng/mL, p = 0.04) than Duffy-negative patients. No association was detected between RBC expression of DARC and the studied complications.