CD4(+) T cell response in early erythrocytic stage malaria: Plasmodium berghei infection in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice.
Plasmodium berghei ANKA causes lethal malaria in mice. It is well established that C57BL/6 mice die early with fulminant symptoms including convulsion, whereas BALB/c mice survive this phase and die later of anemia and prostration. Early death in C57BL/6 mice has been considered to result from the adverse effects of inflammatory cytokines. To elucidate the CD4(+) T cell responses in early death due to severe malaria, the kinetics of CD4(+) T cells were compared by analyzing cell surface markers and the production of cytokines and transcription factors. The results revealed that cytokine production by CD4(+) T cells was induced as early as 5 days after infection and the maintenance of higher levels of IL-4 and IL-10 may be associated with the protection of BALB/c mice from early death. These results suggest that parasite control in the early phase of infection may be important for the development of an effective vaccine.
Research Institute for Biological Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan. shibui@rs.noda.tus.ac.jp
Akiko
A
Shibui
Nobumichi
N
Hozumi
Chiharu
C
Shiraishi
Yoshitaka
Y
Sato
Hajime
H
Iida
Sumio
S
Sugano
Junichi
J
Watanabe
D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D008288:Malaria / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018512:Parasitemia; D010962:Plasmodium berghei / Q000276:immunology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis
D016207:Cytokines; D014157:Transcription Factors