Abstract
Syphilitic rabbits have previously been shown to resist challenge with Listeria monocytogenes. Thirty days after rabbits were infected with Treponema pallidum, transfer of 4 to 6 × 108 viable spleen cells along with T. pallidum conferred resistance to Listeria on normal recipients. Treatment of the spleen cells with anti-thymus serum and complement inhibited or abolished their ability to transfer resistance to Listeria. These results support the hypothesis that the ability of syphilitic rabbits to suppress the growth of Listeria reflects stimulation of cell-mediated immunity during active infection with T. pallidum.
Footnotes
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↵1 This investigation was supported by General Research Funds, Veteran's Administration Hospital, Houston, and by National Institutes of Health Grants 1 RO1 AI 11305 and TO1 AI 00374.
- Received September 9, 1974.
- Copyright © 1975 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.
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