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Limiting dilution analysis of the T cell response to Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi in mice
Author(s) -
LANGHORNE JEAN,
SIMON BIRGIT
Publication year - 1989
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.1365-3024.1989.tb00688.x
Subject(s) - plasmodium chabaudi , biology , antigen , immunology , t cell , antibody , immune system , microbiology and biotechnology , malaria , plasmodium falciparum , parasitemia
Summary A limiting dilution assay system was developed in order to measure the in–vitro T cell response to antigens of the erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium chabaudi. The conditions of the assay are such that only CD4 + T cells are able to respond. The assay allows the determination of the frequencies of T cells which proliferate and/or which develop into helper cells for antibody production during a primary infection. A specific response from splenic T cells can be measured as early as 7 days after infection, and is still significant 3 months after injection of P. chabaudi. At all times the frequency of proliferating cells was greater than the precursor frequency of T helper cells. This suggests that a proportion of CD4 + T cells in this assay, although they respond to malarial antigen, do not develop into helper cells for antibody production. This limiting dilution assay will be a useful method by which to evaluate the functional heterogeneity of the CD4+ T cell response to malaria antigens.