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Cellular mechanisms involved in recovery from acute malaria in Gambian children
Author(s) -
BROWN JIM,
GREENWOOD BRIAN M.,
TERRY ROLAND J.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
parasite immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.795
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1365-3024
pISSN - 0141-9838
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3024.1986.tb00869.x
Subject(s) - biology , immunology , malaria , plasmodium falciparum , antibody , antigen , in vitro , parasite hosting , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , population , immune system , virology , medicine , biochemistry , environmental health , world wide web , computer science
Summary This paper reports the results of in vitro experiments which attempt to elucidate the mechanisms whereby Gambian children control acute infections of Plasmodium falciparum. It was shown initially that mononuclear cells from children with acute malaria, in the presence of specific antibody, caused a marked reduction in in vitro parasite growth. IgM antibodies appeared to be considerably more effective than IgG. T or B lymphocytes were ineffective in the system; adherent cells alone had some effect, but much less than the unfractionated cell population. Adherent cells were however fully effective after exposure to supernatants from T cells activated either non‐specifically by phytohaemaggluti‐nin (PHA), or specifically by P. falciparum antigens. Depression of parasite growth was also observed, independent of anti‐malarial antibody. This was achieved when adherent cells from healthy Europeans, as well as those from infected children, were exposed to the supernatants from previously stimulated T cells before adding to the culture. Furthermore, intra‐erythrocytic parasite death occurred after a short exposure to the supernatants of ‘activated’ adherent cells from both infected children and Europeans.