Immunity to Toxoplasma gondii induced in vitro in non-immune mouse macrophages with specifically immune lymphocytes.

Male and female CBA mice were used to study in vitro the mechanisms involved in the development and expression of cellular immunity to toxoplasma infection. The lag phase preceding toxoplasma division was delayed in nonimmune macrophages obtained from peritoneal cavities stimulated with thioglycollate. Specific anti-toxoplasma activity was conferred on nonimmune macrophages incubated with toxoplasma-immune spleen lymphocytes and soluble toxoplasma antigen. Treatment of immune spleen cell populations with anti-theta serum plus complement abolished completely their activity of conferring anti-toxoplasma activity on nonimmune macrophages, demonstrating that the essential cells were T lymphocytes. The mediator(s) responsible for the acquisition of immunity to toxoplasma in the nonimmune macrophages were soluble. Heat-inactivated, toxoplasm-immune macrophages of fibroblasts. The findings are related to previous investigations of induced immunity in animals and man.