Phytohaemagglutinin reactivity in circulating peripheral blood lymphocytes during a Trypanosoma brucei infection: sequential studies in individual guinea-pigs

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Abstract
The response to phytohemagglutinin of peripheral blood lymphocytes from guinea-pigs infected with T. brucei brucei was analyzed. It was possible to follow the response of individual animals throughout an infection. A culture method using whole blood permitted fewer cell manipulations and eliminated the necessity to supplement cultures with heterologous serum. Selection of appropriate strains of T. b. brucei produced a relatively chronic infection in guinea-pigs. Even late in the disease, significant mitogen reactivity still remains in some individuals. More significantly, these mitogen responders controlled successive parasitemic waves producing a fluctuating parasitaemia, whereas the animals showing poor mitogen responsiveness, non-responders failed to control successive waves and showed plateau parasitemias.