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Infection and Immunity, January 2009, p. 414-418, Vol. 77, No. 1
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00982-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Secreted Antibody Is Required for Immunity to Plasmodium berghei {triangledown}

Julia K. Nunes,1 Michael N. Starnbach,2 and Dyann F. Wirth1,2*

Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115,1 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 021152

Received 6 August 2008/ Returned for modification 11 September 2008/ Accepted 31 October 2008

Infection with Plasmodium berghei is lethal to mice, causing high levels of parasitemia, severe anemia, and death. However, when mice are treated with antimalarial drugs during acute infection, they have enhanced immunity to subsequent infections. With this infection and cure model of immunity, we systematically examined the basis of adaptive immunity to infection using immunodeficient mice. In order to induce adaptive immunity, mice were infected with blood-stage parasites. When the mice developed 2 to 3% parasitemia, they were treated with chloroquine to cure the infection. These convalescent mice were then challenged with homologous blood-stage parasites. Immunized wild-type mice were able to control the level of infection. In contrast, mice lacking mature B cells and T cells were unable to control a challenge infection, indicating the critical role of lymphocytes in immunity to P. berghei. Furthermore, mice lacking secreted antibody were unable to control the level of parasitemia following a challenge infection. Our results indicate that secreted antibody is a requirement for immunity to P. berghei.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Building 1, Room 705, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 432-4629. Fax: (617) 432-4766. E-mail: dfwirth{at}hsph.harvard.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 10 November 2008.

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

Infection and Immunity, January 2009, p. 414-418, Vol. 77, No. 1
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00982-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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