IMMUNE-COMPLEXES AND NEPHROPATHIES ASSOCIATED WITH PLASMODIUM-INUI INFECTION IN THE RHESUS-MONKEY

The pathogenesis of renal diseases associated with Plasmodium malariae infections is still not fully; understood. The present work is concer ned with the infection caused by P. inui in the rhesus monkey Macaca m ulatta as a potential model for human quartan malaria, which the monke y parasite resembles in morphology and schizogonic behavior. Various a spects of the disease were studied. Changes in the levels of serum com plement components C3 and C4 indicate activation of complement through the classical pathway. A few days after infection, IgG antibody titer s increased, coinciding with low levels of parasitemia, which suggests that some of these antibodies are protective. Immunofluorescence test ing of kidney tissue showed a predominance of IgM antibodies over IgG, C3, C4, albumin, and fibrinogen, which was detected in a number of th e infected monkeys. These findings were consistent with those seen in humans with P. malariae infection and indicate that the P. inui/rhesus monkey model is likely to be appropriate for the study of different a spects of quartan malaria.