Intracellular destruction of Leishmania tropica by macrophages activated with macrophage activating factor/interferon.

Supernatants (SN) from cloned T cell lines, lymphokine secreting tumour cell lines and mixed lymphocyte culture were analysed for their ability to induce murine peritoneal exudate cell (PEC) macrophages (M phi) parasitized with Leishmania tropica to destroy the parasite. The ability of the SN to induce parasite destruction in parasitized PEC M phi correlated with their content of macrophage activating factor/interferon. Neither granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, M phi colony stimulating factor nor interleukin 2 was required for the induction of parasiticidal activity by infected PEC M phi. Similar results were also obtained using either a different Leishmania species, Leishmania enriettii, or a second source of cells: bone marrow derived macrophages.