Overall, these findings suggest that AKI, a common complication of severe malaria, may be caused by heme toxicity, and that therapeutically targeting AHR and/or heme metabolism, rather than parasites, may improve malaria outcomes without driving drug resistance in Plasmodium. We also expect that other metabolites altered during infection have similarly important biological functions, and these relationships may be a rich area for future study. This evidence concerns the gene AHR and malaria.