Susceptibility of radiation chimeras to Trypanosoma cruzi.

Reciprocal bone marrow transfers were performed with C3H/HeJ mice, which are susceptible to infection with the Brazil strain of Trypanosoma cruzi, and resistant F1 (C3H/HeJ X C57BL/6J) mice. Mice reconstituted after lethal irradiation with syngeneic bone marrow displayed the resistance phenotype of the strain used, but neither C3H mice reconstituted with F1 bone marrow cells nor F1 mice reconstituted with C3H bone marrow cells survived challenge. Resistance to T. cruzi appears to be dependent upon factors associated both with host background and with bone marrow-derived cells.