Immunodepression during experimental Naegleria meningoencephalitis in mice

ABSTRACT

In order to test the function of lymphocytes in Naegleria fowleri-infected mice, the in vitro blastogenic response of splenocyte cultures to non-specific mitogens was studied. Concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide stimulation were used as tests of T cell and B cell function. For the first 14 days following N. fowleri infection, lymphoblastic transformation induced by T-cell mitogen was markedly reduced in comparison to the uninfected control mice. The blastogenic response to B-cell mitogen remained depressed in the infected mice up to 14 days after infection. The fluorescent antibody titers of sera of N. fowleri infected mice were between 14 and 132. The results suggest that there is a suppression of cell mediated immunity during the acute course of experimental Naegleria meningoencephalitis in mice.