Effector functions of circumsporozoite peptide-primed CD4+ T cell clones against Plasmodium yoelii liver stages.

Previously, CD4+ T cell lines and clones were isolated after immunization of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice with the Py1 peptide, a 21-mer synthetic peptide corresponding to a N-terminal segment of the circumsporozoite protein of Plasmodium yoelii. The clones were separated into the Th1 and Th2 subsets on the basis of lymphokine production. It was observed that immunization with the Py1 peptide induced preferentially Th1 cells in BALB/c and Th2 cells in C57BL/6 mice. These clones were then tested for their cytolytic ability in vitro. Some of the clones from BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice eliminated liver stage parasites from cultured hepatocytes in a MHC restricted manner. Nevertheless, none of these clones was able to lyse Py1 peptide-pulsed target cells. It was also found that two clones could protect BALB/c mice against a sporozoite challenge. These results provide evidence that CD4+ T cells, induced after priming with a defined peptide, could participate in the effector mechanisms against malaria liver stages.