IMMUNIZATION OF MICE WITH PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE DRASTICALLY REDUCES THEPARASITEMIA OF SUBSEQUENT PLASMODIUM-CHABAUDI CHABAUDI BLOOD-STAGE INFECTIONS

It has been suggested that phospholipids and antibodies directed again st phospholipids are important in the pathology of malaria. We have in vestigated the influence of immunizations with phospholipids on the co urse of subsequent blood-stage Plasmodium chabaudi chabaudi infections in ICR inbred mice. We observed a significant reduction in the parasi taemia following immunization with phosphatidylcholine (PC), but not w ith phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) immunization. At the peak of the inf ection, PC-immunized mice displayed a T-helper 2 (Th2)-type cytokine p roduction pattern, whereas PE-immunized or non-treated controls displa yed a cytokine production pattern of the T-helper 1 (Th1) type. Serum immunoglobulin transfer from PC-immunized mice protected naive mice in a similar fashion to PC-immunization, demonstrating that the observed reduction of parasitaemia was caused by the presence of PC-specific a ntibodies.