During severe malaria, besides cytokine production, there is an increase in adhesion molecules expression, release of angiopoietin 2 (Ang-2), decrease of nitric oxide (NO), and adhesion of parasitized RBC (pRBC) and leukocytes to brain vasculature, causing microvascular dysfunction that ends up in an activation of microglial cells and astrocytes [49]. Here, ANGPT2 is linked to malaria.