In human and experimental models of malaria, lymphocytopaenia has been attributed to the apoptosis of T lymphocytes and has been associated with high plasma levels of sIL-2R (soluble IL-2 receptor) [7, 11, 12] or the Fas/FasL system [4, 7, 13]; however, the mechanisms of apoptosis during malaria, particularly during P. vivax infection, is not fully elucidated. The gene discussed is FASLG; the disease is malaria.