Experimental African trypanosomiasis: lack of effective CD1d-restricted antigen presentation

BALB/c mice are highly susceptible to African trypanosomiasis, whereas C57BL/6 mice are relatively resistant. Other investigators have reported that the synthesis of IgG antibodies to purified membrane form of variant surface glycoprotein (mfVSG) of Trypanosoma brucei is CD1 restricted. In this study, we examine the role of the CD1d/NKT cell pathway in susceptibility and resistance of mice to infection by African trypanosomes. Administration of anti-CD1d antibodies to Trypanosoma congolense-infected BALB/c mice neither affects the parasitemia nor the survival time. Correspondingly, CD1d(-/-) and CD1d(+/+) BALB/c mice infected with T. congolense or T. brucei show no differences in either parasitaemia or survival time. The course of disease in relative resistant C57BL/6 mice infected with T. congolense is also not affected by the absence of CD1d. Parasitaemia, survival time, and plasma levels of IgG2a and IgG3 parasite-specific antibodies in infected CD1d(-/-) C57BL/6 are not different from those of infected CD1d(+/+) C57BL/6 mice. We conclude that CD1d-restricted immune responses do not play an important role in susceptibility/resistance of mice infected with virulent African trypanosomes. We speculate that virulent trypanosomes have an evasion mechanism that prevents the induction of a parasite-specific, CD1d-restricted immune response by the host.