Failure to induce splenomegaly in BALB/c mice using rodent malaria culture supernatants

Uninfected male and female BALB/c mice were given a twice weekly intraperitoneal injection, of supernatants obtained from 24-h cultures of Plasmodium berghei-infected and control mouse red blood cells, for 5 weeks. The mice were then weighed along with uninjected controls. All the animals were sacrificed by chloroform anaesthesia and their spleen weights measured. Mice receiving malaria culture supernatants had statistically similar spleen weights to those receiving control culture supernatants. The results fail to show the involvement of a malaria 'mitogen' in the pathogenesis of the splenomegaly associated with this infection.