Cell-mediated immunity in rats injected with an antimalaria T-cell line

The aim was to develop a pure T-cell line which would enable the study of some aspects of the cellular immunity of malaria-injected rodents. For this purpose a long-term proliferative antimalaria T-cell line (AMTL) was established. The line was developed from splenocytes of rats recovered from a Plasmodium berghei infection. After adoptive transfer of the AMTL, some protection was demonstrated either by a lower mortality rate after challenge with the parasite or by decreased parasitemia in the T-cell injected versus control groups. Specific delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) was elicited by the AMTL: normal rats injected with the AMTL showed a DTH reaction to malaria antigens similar to the response observed in convalescent animals. Specificity was demonstrated by a marked response of the AMTL injected rats compared to rats injected with a control line (anti-purified protein derivative of tuberculin).