Immunization against Leishmaniasis in Laboratory Animals.
Abstract
The present study showed that injection of 10 to the 7th power promastigotes of Leishmania braziliensis panamensis into footpads of C57B1/6J mice and hamsters significantly reduced the parasite burdens of these hosts following L. donovani challenge. In C57B1/6J immunized mice, mean liver parasite burdens were usually 2 to 4 times less than in unimmunized controls. L. b. panamensis was isolated by culture of spleen and politeal lymph nodes draining injected footpads up to 9 weeks after immunization; thereafter, protection against challenge was by sterile immunity. Footpads of C57B1/6J mice were maximally enlarged 4-5 weeks after immunization, returning to near normal by 8 weeks, while footpads of mice injected with promastigotes of L. donovani were only slightly enlarged. L. b. panamensis footpad injection of hamsters provided stronger protection against L. donovani challenge than seen in mice and, in both hosts, protection was greater in liver than in spleen. Unlike mice, hamsters were chronically infected with L. b. panamensis following footpad injection, their footpads remained enlarged and parasites were cultured from spleens and draining popliteal lymph nodes at all times up to 41 weeks. Amastigotes were readily visible in smears of nodes but not spleens. Immunized hamsters, when challenged intradermally with amastigotes of L. donovani, had smaller dermal lesions or, when challenged by injection into the contralateral footpad, had less footpad enlargement and smaller draining popliteal nodes when compared to their respective controls.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 10, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA177301
Entities
People
- Robert Herman
Organizations
- Rutgers University–New Brunswick