Mouse spleen cell responses to trichomonal antigens in experimental Trichomonas vaginalis infection

Subcutaneous inoculation of live T. vaginalis into mice caused splenomegaly, particularly when using strains of parasites with low pathogenicity. The proliferative responses of spleen cells from uninfected mice, as measured by [3H] TdR uptake, showed that trichomonal antigens, whether from strains with high or low pathogenicity, have no mitogenic activity. Spleen cells from mice infected with trichomonads of low pathogenicity showed a proliferative response to trichomonal antigens that was maximal after 4 days incubation. The proliferative response of spleen cells from mice infected with trichomonads of high pathogenicity continued for at least 6 days in the presence of the antigen. Moreover, in the latter case there was a significantly greater uptake of [3H] TdR when cells were incubated with antigens of a highly pathogenic strain. These results support the view that although many antigens are common to strains with differing levels of pathogenicity, some antigens are more closely associated with strains that are more highly pathogenic. The strong proliferative response to these antigens may then be related to the clinical presentation of infection with these strains.