Effect of immunosuppression on the size and metastasis of amoebic liver abscesses in hamsters

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Abstract
The effect of T-cell depletion on experimental hepatic amoebiasis in hamsters was investigated. Thymectomized and anti-T-cell serum (ATS) treated animals as well as sham-operated and unoperated controls were inoculated intrahepatically, following laparotomy, at 7 wk of age with 1 .times. 105 axenic trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica. In neonatally thymectomized hamsters, the mean weight of the liver abscess 10 days post-inoculation was significantly greater than in neonatally sham-operated or unoperated controls, but there was no significant difference between these groups of animals in the size of metastatic foci to other organs. A combination of neonatal thymectomy and ATS treatment enhanced the size of the primary abscess in the liver and the size of metastases to other sites. Adult thymectomy did not have a significant effect either on the size of the primary abscess or on metastatic dissemination of amoebae from the liver. Treatment of hamsters with ATS shortly before or after intrahepatic challenge significantly increased the size of the abscess, but similar treatment 2-3 wk prior to challenge had no effect. Thymus-dependent cell-mediated immunity apparently plays an important role in the host response to E. histolytica infection.