Related Experiment Videos
SELECTION OF A STRAIN OF ALBINO MICE REFRACTORY TO PLASMODIUM BERGHEI INFECTION.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
|January 1, 1964
Summary
This study investigated the genetic inheritance of malaria resistance in mice. Researchers selectively bred mice exposed to Plasmodium berghei, observing increased resistance over generations, suggesting a genetic component to malaria immunity.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Genetics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Malaria natural history in holoendemic areas is influenced by acquired immunity and maternal antibody transmission.
- The role of genetic factors in malaria resistance remains largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential for inherited immunity to malaria.
- To select for a mouse strain with decreased susceptibility to Plasmodium berghei infection through selective breeding.
Main Methods:
- A six-generation mouse breeding experiment using a strain originating from 50 fully susceptible parents.
- Mice were exposed to chloroquine-attenuated Plasmodium berghei infection.
- Survivors were interbred to select for decreased susceptibility.
Main Results:
- By the sixth generation, 16% of mice resisted initial inoculation; by the seventh, one in four resisted.
- Evidence of reduced primary parasitaemia and prolonged prepatent periods observed by the sixth generation.
- Decreased fertility in the seventh generation limited further experimentation.
Conclusions:
- Selective breeding can lead to a decrease in susceptibility to malaria infection in mice.
- This suggests a genetic basis for malaria resistance that can be inherited.
- Further research is warranted to explore the genetic mechanisms of malaria immunity.