Aj. Curry et al., CELL-MEDIATED RESPONSES OF IMMUNIZED VERVET MONKEYS TO DEFINED LEISHMANIA T-CELL EPITOPES, Infection and immunity, 62(5), 1994, pp. 1733-1741
A population of vervet monkeys was immunized with killed parasites and
infected with Leishmania major promastigotes either by needle or by i
nfected-fly bite. The responses of recovered monkeys to mitogens, kill
ed parasites, and molecularly defined T-cell epitopes were then compar
ed with those of control animals. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (
PBMC) from both naive and recovered animals proliferated strongly in r
esponse to both B- and T-cell mitogens, although the responses of the
recovered animals were less strong than those of the naive animals. Ce
lls from recovered vervets, but not those from naive vervets, also pro
liferated in response to parasite antigens and synthetic T-cell epitop
es. Likewise, cells from recovered animals released gamma interferon a
nd either interleukin 2 (IL-2) or IL-4 into culture media in response
to both of the above-mentioned antigens, whereas cells from control an
imals did not. The fact that no IL-5 could be measured following paras
ite antigen or synthetic T-cell epitope stimulation of PBMC suggested
that cells proliferating in response to these molecules belonged to th
e Th1 subset. Phenotypic analysis of the PBMC showed a marked increase
in T-cell but not B-cell populations in recovered animals. Among this
population was an increased number of CD45R0(+) memory cells. The dat
a from this study are in keeping with the earlier finding that vervet
monkeys provide an excellent model system for leishmaniasis. Further,
these data support the contention that synthetic T-cell epitopes are p
rime candidates for molecularly defined Leishmania vaccines.