Interferon-gamma-mediated inhibition of the development of Eimeria tenella in cultured cells.

The effect of treating cultured Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells (MDBK) with recombinant bovine interferon-alpha 1 (IFN-alpha 1) or recombinant bovine interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on the intracellular development of Eimeria tenella was studied. Treatment of the MDBK cells with IFN alpha-1 for 24 hr before infection and for 48 hr after infection had no effect on the development of E. tenella. However, following the same treatment regime with serial dilutions of IFN-gamma induced a significant reduction in the number of total intracellular parasites (sporozoites, trophozoites, and meronts) compared to the untreated controls. Of these intracellular parasites, less than 30% had developed beyond the sporozoite stage. These results are suggestive of a role for IFN-gamma in protecting or limiting the development of E. tenella in their host cells. These results could be relevant to the control of these organisms and may be exploited for use with a coccidiosis vaccine.