The effect of cyclosporin A on the development of Eimeria in non-specific hosts

The role of T lymphocytes on the development of turkey coccidia in chickens was investigated to further document the involvement of immune mechanisms in the reactions of non-specific hosts to infections with species of Eimeria. All chickens treated with the T cell-specific immunosuppressive drug, cyclosporin A (CsA), 1, 2 or 3 days before or for 3 consecutive days immediately before inoculation with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria from the turkey, shed oocysts in their feces 7-12 days after inoculation. Those chickens treated with CsA after inoculation produced no oocysts although in one experiment a small number of oocysts were discharged by birds injected with CsA 1 day after inoculation. High serum levels of CsA were maintained in the CsA-treated chickens for at least 24 h post-inoculation with the oocysts. Immunosuppressive activity of the drug was determined by measuring lymphocyte blastogenesis in response to concanavalin A. These results demonstrate that the suppression of T lymphocyte activity in a non-specific host early during an infection with a heterologous species of Eimeria permits the complete intracellular development of the parasite. Our findings are suggestive of a role for T lymphocytes in preventing the development of Eimeria in non-specific hosts possibly via a lymphokine-mediated mechanism.