Delayed hypersensitivity to Toxoplasma and unrelated antigens in Toxoplasma-infected mice: induction and elicitation of delayed-type hypersensitivity by antigen-pulsed macrophages.

Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to Toxoplasma and unrelated antigens in Toxoplasma-infected BALB/c mice was investigated by the radioisotopic uptake method of Vadas et al. (Int. Arch. Allergy Appl. Immunol. 49: 670-692, 1975). DTH became positive on day 30 of infection and remained positive during chronic infection. The expression of DTH in mice infected with the relatively avirulent C37 strain of the parasite paralleled the Toxoplasma antibody response as detected by the Sabin-Feldman dye test. Mice sensitized with Toxoplasma, keyhole limpet hemocyanin, or sheep erythrocytes during the acute or chronic phase of Toxoplasma infection showed a DTH reaction similar to that of uninfected sensitized controls. No parasite antigens could be detected by immunofluorescence techniques on the surface of Toxoplasma-infected cells. When killed organisms were added to the cell cultures, specks of fluorescence appeared on cells containing intracellular parasites as well as on cells without intracellular organisms. That the antigens may be present in or on macrophages in a form readily recognizable by T cells is suggested by experiments in which we demonstrated that injection of uninfected normal macrophages pulsed with Toxoplasma-soluble antigens into the ears of chronically infected mice elicited a DTH reaction comparable to that observed when 10(6) Formalin-fixed tachyzoites were used as the test antigen. When macrophages pulsed with Toxoplasma antigen were used in attempts to induce DTH in naive uninfected mice, the intensity of the reaction was similar to that observed in infected mice.