Immune response studies in relation to protection induced by using MDP as an adjuvant in malaria

Muramyl dipeptide (MDP) was an important compound conferring protection to mice against the lethal malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. The mode of protection of this compound was studied using different humoral and cellular parameters. The observations indicate that MDP boosts both humoral antibody response as well as delayed type hypersensitivity reactions, but as far as phagocytosis by macrophages is concerned, malarial mice are already maximally stimulated and MDP makes a marginal difference in immune phagocytosis only.