Type I Interferon Induced in Mice by Infection with Trypanosoma equiperdum

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Abstract
Type II interferon is known to be produced in mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. Therefore, interferon production was investigated in mice infected with Trypanosoma equiperdum. Interferon was found in the sera of mice infected with T. equiperdum from day 1 after infection until death on day 5. The maximal level of interferon appeared before parasitemia was detected, a finding showing that the endogenous interferon probably had no significant influence on the course of infection. Unexpectedly, the serum interferon was characterized as type I by its stability at pH 2 and by its neutralization by antiserum to virus-induced mouse interferon. The production of two different types of interferon in mice infected with T. cruzi and T. equiperdum may have been due to the dissimilar life cycles of the two trypanosomes in the white mouse.