GJB2 and malaria: Moreover, GJB2-p.(Arg143Trp) has been suggested to be associated with a thicker skin epidermis, and increased sodium and chloride ion concentrations in sweat of GJB2-p.(Arg143Trp) homozygous individuals in Ghana, with possibly related increased protection against insect bites, and provide an unfavorable osmotic milieu for pathogen invasion resistance to malaria [15].