title: Host defenses in murine malaria: characteristics of protracted states of immunity to Plasmodium berghei.
abstract: Vaccination of 8-week-old B6D2 (C57BL/6 x DBA/2) mice with Formalin-killed asexual erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium berghei provided a capacity to survive challenge with lethal P. berghei for more than 542 days. Although long-lived, this immunity did not provide a capacity to immediately neutralize parasites in a challenge; significant levels of erythrocytic infection occurred transiently after each challenge. The quality of long-lived immunity was not enhanced by an injection of live parasites 2 weeks after the last injection of killed antigen. The results suggest that it will be difficult to design a vaccination regimen which will provide long-lived protection from overt erythrocytic-stage infection.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D007109:Immunity; D007114:Immunization; D008288:Malaria / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors