Gamma Delta T Cells But Not Nk Cells Are Essential For Cell-Mediated Immunity Against Plasmodium Chabaudi Malaria

Blood-stage Plasmodium chabaudi infections are suppressed by antibody-mediated immunity and/or cell-mediated immunity (CMI). To determine the contributions of NK cells and gamma delta T cells to protective immunity, C57BL/6 (wild-type [WT]) mice and B-cell-deficient (J(H-/-)) mice were infected with P. chabaudi and depleted of NK cells or gamma delta T cells with monoclonal antibody. The time courses of parasitemia in NK-cell-depleted WT mice and J(H-/-) mice were similar to those of control mice, indicating that deficiencies in NK cells, NKT cells, or CD8(+) T cells had little effect on parasitemia. In contrast, high levels of noncuring parasitemia occurred in J(H-/-) mice depleted of gamma delta T cells. Depletion of gamma delta T cells during chronic parasitemia in B-cell-deficient J(H-/-) mice resulted in an immediate and marked exacerbation of parasitemia, suggesting that gamma delta T cells have a direct killing effect in vivo on blood-stage parasites. Cytokine analyses revealed that levels of interleukin-10, gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), and macrophage chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) in the sera of gamma delta T-cell-depleted mice were significantly (P < 0.05) decreased compared to hamster immunoglobulin-injected controls, but these cytokine levels were similar in NK-cell-depleted mice and their controls. The time courses of parasitemia in CCR2(-/-) and J(H-/-) x CCR2(-/-) mice and in their controls were nearly identical, indicating that MCP-1 is not required for the control of parasitemia. Collectively, these data indicate that the suppression of acute P. chabaudi infection by CMI is gamma delta T cell dependent, is independent of NK cells, and may be attributed to the deficient IFN-gamma response seen early in gamma delta T-cell-depleted mice.