Our previous study showed that anti-Tim-3 antibodies which can literally inhibit the binding of all its ligands to Tim-3 could inhibit the growth of parasite and protect mice from cerebral malaria [20], while α-lactose only blocked the binding of gal-9 to Tim-3, which may be the reason why α-lactose did not protect mice as anti-Tim-3 antibodies did (Figs. 5 and 6) in this study. This evidence concerns the gene LGALS9 and cerebral malaria.