Immunity to Plasmodium Berghei yoelii in mice. I. The course of infection in T cell and B cell deficient mice.

The course of infection with 17X nonlethal Plasmodium berghei yoelii was examined in BALB/c mice which were deficient in either T cells or B cells. Markedly increased parasitemia and mortality were observed in athymic (nude) mice which had been backcrossed on a BALB/c background (T cell deficient) compared to similar mice which had been grafted with neonatal BALB/c thymus, and were also observed in BALB/c mice suppressed from birth with goat antiserum to mouse mu-chain (B cell deficient) compared to age- and sex-matched BALB/c controls. These results establish the requirement for the presence of both T cells and B cells for effective resistance to an intercurrent infection with 17XNL P.b. yoelii in adult BALB/c mice. Mechanisms by which the requirement for both T cells and B cells could be explained were discussed. The model of mu suppression was shown to be a valuable tool for an evaluation of the cellular basis of immunity to an infectious disease.