IL-12 and NK Cells Are Required for Antigen-Specific Adaptive Immunity Against Malaria Initiated by CD8+ T Cells in the Plasmodium yoelii Model
Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: CD8+ T cells have been implicated as critical effector cells in protection against preerythrocytic stage malaria, including the potent protective immunity of mice and humans induced by immunization with radiation-attenuated Plasmodium spp. sporozoites. This immunity is directed against the Plasmodium spp. parasite developing within the host hepatocyte and for a number of years has been presumed to be mediated directly by CD8+ CTL or indirectly by IFN-gamma released from CD8+ T cells. In this paper, in BALB/c mice, we establish that after immunization with irradiated sporozoites or DNA vaccines parasite-specific CD8+ T cells trigger a novel mechanism of adaptive immunity that is dependent on T cell- and non-T cell-derived cytokines, in particular IFN-gamma and IL-12, and requires NK cells but not CD4+ T cells. The absolute requirement for CD8+ T cells to initiate such an effector mechanism, and the requirement for IL-12 and NK cells in such vaccine-induced protective immunity, are unique and underscore the complexity of the immune responses that protect against malaria and other intracellular pathogens.
Source: The Journal of Immunology
Authors: Denise L Doolan, Stephen L Hoffman
Language: English
Topic: Malaria Research and Control
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1588145372