Abstract
HUMAN and experimental forms of African trypanosomiasis are characterised by a profound suppression of immunological responsiveness. Suppression of both humoral and cell-mediated responses has been observed. Trypanosoma gambiense infections in man reduce antibody responses to Salmonella typhi (H antigen) and skin reactivity to purified protein derivative, Candida and dinitrochlorobenzene1. T. brucei infections in mice cause marked suppression of antibody2 and splenic plaque-forming cell3,4 responses to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), and in rabbits suppress the development of experimental allergic neuritis5. The mechanism underlying this inhibition of immunocompetent cell function has not been elucidated. We have examined the DNA synthetic responses of spleen cells from T. brucei-infected mice to concanavalin A (con A) and phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) (both T-cell mitogens), Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS, a B-cell mitogen) and allogeneic cells, and the ability of these cells to influence the responses of normal cells. We present evidence suggesting that suppressor cells6,7 are involved in the immunological hyporesponsiveness observed in this disease.
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JAYAWARDENA, A., WAKSMAN, B. Suppressor cells in experimental trypanosomiasis. Nature 265, 539–541 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/265539a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/265539a0
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