The possible role of isoantigens in protective immunity to malaria

The possibility that autoimmune responses to modified red cell antigens might be involved in protective immunity to malaria was investigated in Plasmodium berghei infection of August rats. Animals rendered anaemic by phenylhydrazine treatment at the time of immunization showed significantly greater protection than rats given antigen alone, or phenylhydrazine alone. Adoptive transfer experiments indicated that this enhanced response could be transferred with spleen cells.