EFFECT OF CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE ON TOXOPLASMA-GONDII INFECTION - REVERSAL OF EFFECT BY PASSIVE-IMMUNIZATION

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 33  (3) , 389-394
Abstract
Treatment of mice with cyclophosphamide (CY) at a dose of 250 mg/kg body wt 24 h prior to infection with an avirulent strain of T. gondii delays the appearance of antibody [Ab] by about 1 wk and results in 70% mortality. To discount other effects of CY besides inhibition of Ab synthesis, CY-treated infected mice were passively immunized with a pooled specific serum collected from chronically infected syngeneic animals. Passive immunization reversed the effect of CY treatment if the titer of Ab in recipients reached 1 : 512 or more, as measured by the indirect immunofluorescence technique (IFT). Ab may play an important role in establishing an infection-immunity (premunition) in this system.