Murine encephalitozoonosis model for studying the host-parasite relationship of a chronic infection.
Encephalitozoon cuniculi caused chronic nonlethal infections in euthymic BALB/cAnN mice, whereas athymic BALB/cAnN-nu mice died from infection. Specific, anamnestic, transferable, and acquired responses against E. cuniculi were expressed by infected euthymic mice. Resistance to lethal disease appears to be T-cell dependent. Immune serum failed to protect infected athymic mice, whereas the transfer of T-enriched spleen cells from E. cuniculi-sensitized euthymic donors prevented lethal E. cuniculi infections in athymic mice. These findings indicate that murine encephalitozoonosis may be an excellent system for studies of a chronic infection in an immunologically well-characterized host.
D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D009670:Encephalitozoon cuniculi / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*