Interferon-gamma-independent CD8(+) T cell-mediated protective anti-malaria immunity elicited by recombinant adenovirus

Recombinant adenovirus, expressing the CS protein of Plasmodium yoelii, AdP yCS, was shown to induce a comparable degree of T cell-mediated protection against malaria as a single dose of irradiated P. yoelii sporozoites, causi ng inhibition of liver stage development. We now report that differently fr om sporozoite-induced immunity, interferon (IFN)-gamma does not mediate the protective immunity induced by AdPyCS, since a similar degree of protectio n was observed in AdPyCS immunized mice lacking IFN-gamma(-/-) and the IFN- gamma receptor (IFN-gamma R-/-) compared to that in wild-type mice. Depleti on of CD8(+) T cells from these immunized mice almost completely abolished the AdPyCS-induced immunity, indicating that the immunization with AdPyCS i nduces CD8(+) T cell-mediated protective anti-malaria immunity, which is in dependent of IFN-gamma.