title: Deficiency of antibody responses to T-independent antigens in gerbils---Meriones unguiculatus.
abstract: Meriones unguiculatus commonly known as gerbils are widely used as animal models for a variety of parasitic infections such as Brugia malayi, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia duodenalis, Toxoplasma gondi, Helicobacter pylori, Strongyloides stercoralis and Echinococcus multilocularis. Groups of BALB/c mice, gerbils and XID mice were studied for antibody responses to T-independent antigens. Gerbils were found to be significantly deficient in eliciting antibodies to both dextran and phosphorylcholine (PC) in comparison to BALB/c mice. The antibody response of gerbils to T-independent antigens was found to be similar to the response observed in Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) deficient XID mice, which are known to be poor responders to T-independent antigens. Similar to XID mice, normal gerbil sera were found to be deficient in naturally occurring antibodies to single stranded DNA (SS-DNA), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phospholipids. This raises the possibility of a deficiency of CD5+ B-lymphocytes (also known as B-1 cells) in gerbils, since deficiency of this sub-population of B-lymphocytes has been attributed to the absence of such naturally occurring antibodies in XID mice. These results indicate the need to study immunogenicity of parasite T-independent antigens and their relationship to protective immunity in parasitic infections in gerbils.
authors.affiliation: Division of Applied Immunology, Regional Medical Research Centre, ICMR, Chandrasekharpur, Orissa 751 016, Bhubaneswar, India.
authors.forename: Madhu Chhanda
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.forename: Balachandran
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ravindran
mesh_terms: D000077329:Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000276:immunology; D003911:Dextrans / Q000276:immunology; D005849:Gerbillinae / Q000276:immunology*; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007114:Immunization; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000276:immunology; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000276:immunology; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics; D017182:Setaria Nematode / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D000955:Antigens, T-Independent; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D003911:Dextrans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010743:Phospholipids; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D000077329:Agammaglobulinaemia Tyrosine Kinase; C000625951:Btk protein, mouse