ADOPTIVE TRANSFER OF GRANULOMATOUS INFLAMMATION TO BRUGIA ANTIGENS INJIRDS

Brugia pahangi infections of jirds (Meriones unguiculatus) produce a g ranulomatous inflammatory response within the lymphatic vessels. Granu lomas that form around beads coated with soluble adult antigens emboli zed in the lungs have been used to measure this response. Similar lesi ons were observed in naive jirds receiving lymph node cells and spleno cytes from animals with acute infections. This was not the case with c ells from chronically infected jirds that were hyporesponsive to impla nted antigen-coated beads. Passively transferred immune sera collected during the acute and chronic periods of infection did not transfer th is response. Lymph node cells but not splenocytes obtained from chroni cally infected jirds induced a down regulation of this response in ani mals during the acute period. These results indicate that this inflamm atory response in the jird is cell mediated and that adoptive transfer in jirds is feasible. The induction of the down-regulated state may a lso be mediated by cells, but not serum factors.