title: Polyclonal B lymphocyte activation during Trypanosoma cruzi infection.
abstract: Infection of A/J mice with Trypanosoma cruzi results in the polyclonal activation of B lymphocytes in vivo as assessed by the spontaneous plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to trinitrophenyl and to goat, equine, and sheep erythrocytes. The peak response to these antigens is found at 5 to 6 days of infection. Additionally, a polyclonal response to syngeneic erythrocytes can be detected in infected mice by using aged but not fresh indicator cells. Polyclonally stimulated PFC to human gamma-PFC found late in infection during a period of marked splenomegaly and parasitemia. This trypanosoma-induced polyclonal B cell activation may well be responsible for the abnormalities in immunoglobulin synthesis and secretion that have been reported to occur during human infection with T. cruzi.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D006241:Haptens / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008805:Mice, Inbred A; D013163:Splenomegaly / Q000276:immunology; D005719:gamma-Globulins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006241:Haptens; D005719:gamma-Globulins