title: Natural killer cell activity during murine Schistosomiasis mansoni.
abstract: Natural killer cell (NK) activity of spleen cells from CBA/J and C57BL/6 mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni was assayed using 51Cr-labeled YAC-1 cells as target cells. No significant difference in NK activity was detected between infected and age-matched control spleen cells from 1 to 4 wk after infection. The NK-mediated cytotoxic abilities of both infected and age-matched control mice fell in parallel, as expected, on an age-related basis. However, on a cell-to-cell basis the splenic NK activity of mice infected from 8 to 18 wk was significantly less than that of age-matched control mice. Meanwhile, because of the splenomegaly associated with patent infection, the total number of nucleated splenocytes in chronically infected mice increased to fourfold that of age-matched control mice. Therefore, the total available NK activity per spleen was increased by chronic infection. The NK activities of spleen cells from age-matched control mice and those infected for 18 wk could be augmented by in vivo administration of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, indicating the continued responsiveness of NK cells from chronically infected mice to activation. Spleen cell NK activity in age-matched control and infected C57BL/6 mice exhibited a pattern similar to that of CBA/J mice.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D011070:Poly I-C / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000276:immunology; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D011070:Poly I-C