Original Article
Korean J Parasitol. 1993 Jun;31(2):157-163. English.
Published online Mar 20, 1994.  http://dx.doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1993.31.2.157
Copyright © 1993 by The Korean Society for Parasitology
The effect of active immunization with Acanthamoeba culbertsoni in mice born to immune mother
H H Kong,S A Seo,C O Shin and K I Im*
Department of Parasitology, College of Medicine and Institute of Tropical Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-752, Korea.
Received January 28, 1993; Accepted March 09, 1993.

Abstract

Acanthamoeba culbertsoni is a pathogenic free-living amoeba causing primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAME) in human and mouse. Several reports on the immune responses in mice with this amoebic infection have been published, but the effects of transferred passive immunity on the active immunization in offspring mice have not been demonstrated. This experiment was done to observe the effect of active immunization with Acanthamoeba culbertsoni in mice born to immune mothers. Acanthamoeba culbertsoni was cultured in the CGV medium axenically. Female BALB/c mice weighing about 20g were immunized through the intraperitoneal injection of Acanthamoeba culbertsoni trophozoites 1 × 106 each three times at the interval of one week. Offspring mice were immunized two times. The mice were inoculated intranasally with 1 × 104 trophozoites under secobarbital anesthesia. There was a statistical difference in mortality between the transferred immunity group and the active immunization group. Statistical differences were not demonstrated in antibody titer between both groups. But L3T4+ T cell/Ly2+ T cell ratio was increased in the transferred immunity group more than active immunization group of the offspring mice at the age of 5 weeks. There was no differences statistically in mortality between both groups. It was recognized that active immunization in offspring mice born to immune mother could modulate the immune status according to the time of immunization.

Figures


Fig. 1
Distribution of antibody titers in offspring mice born to immune mothers according to the age and their titer changes after immunization.

Tables


Table 1
Experimental design for immunization and amoeba infection in control and experimental groups


Table 2
Cumulative number of death in mice inoculated intranasally with Acanthamoeba culbertsoni


Table 3
T cell subset in spleen cell suspension of the each group infected with Acanthamoeba culbertsoni

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