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Thymus Dependence of Resistance to Infection with Babesia microti of Human Origin in Mice
Mary J. Ruebush
Mary J. Ruebush
Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
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William L. Hanson
William L. Hanson
Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
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The nature of resistance to a primary infection with Babesia microti (Peabody strain) was studied in lethally irradiated, bone marrow- and/or thymocyte-reconstituted BALB/c mice. Mice depleted of T lymphocytes by thymectomy, lethal irradiation, and reconstitution with anti-theta serum-treated bone marrow cells developed significantly higher parasitemias than sham-thymectomized, lethally irradiated mice reconstituted with thymocytes alone. Natural resistance to B. microti could be partially restored to T lymphocyte-depleted mice by transfer of spleen cells depleted of B lymphocytes by treatment with anti-immunoglobulin serum. The greatest resistance to infection among lethally irradiated mice, however, was observed when T lymphocytes were given to mice with intact thymuses. The return of the spleen to normal size after enlargement resulting from infection with B. microti was shown to be a T cell-mediated response. Twenty days after peak parasitemia, the total cell and leucocyte numbers in the spleens of mice depleted of T lymphocytes were considerably higher than those of mice given T cells. A depression of humoral immune responsiveness to sheep red blood cells was also noted during primary B. microti infection, while cell-mediated immune responses remained near normal. Although the mechanism of parasite destruction was not determined, these results suggest that resistance to and recovery from a primary B. microti infection is modulated by T lymphocytes, and that depressed B cell function and normal T cell function are correlates of this infection.
Author Notes
Present address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103.
| Past two years | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
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