Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection in goats. Response of peripheral blood lymphocytes to mitogen stimulation
Diesing, L.; Ahmed, J.S.; Zweygarth, E.; Hörchner, F.
Tropenmedizin und Parasitologie 34(2): 79-83
1983
ISSN/ISBN: 0303-4208 PMID: 6879709 Document Number: 207911
In 5 goats inoculated intravenously with 104 T. b. brucei/kg body weight there was an inverse correlation between the number of lymphocytes and their capacity to respond to concanavalin A, phytohaemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen. During a period when the lymphocytes were almost completely incapable of responding to mitogens (4 to 6 weeks after infection) severe clinical symptoms and parasitaemia were not apparent. As the infection proceeded the lymphocytes of 4 of the goats regained their capacity to respond to mitogen stimulation and shortly before death, when the goats showed severe symptoms of trypanosomiasis and a high parasitaemia, blastogenesis of the cells was comparable to that of controls.