Failure of immunization with <i>Naegleria fowleri</i> in mice born to immune mothers

Original Article


Korean J Parasitol. 1985 Jun;23(1):151-155. English. Published online Mar 20, 1994. http://dx.doi.org/10.3347/kjp.1985.23.1.151
Copyright © 1985 by The Korean Society for Parasitology


Failure of immunization with Naegleria fowleri in mice born to immune mothers
Kyung Il Im and Keun Tae Lee
Department of Parasitology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 120, Korea.


Abstract
Female BALB/c mice weighing 18-20 g were immunized by three injections of 1 × 10(6) Naegleria fowleri trophozoites intraperitoneally at the interval of one week 6 times for the pregnant mice and 3 times for the offspring mice. One week after immunization the mice were challenged intranasally with N. fowleri trophozoites 5 × 10(4) under secobarbital anesthesia. Experimental primary amoebic meningoencephalitis developed between day 7 and 16 after infection. All mice were dead due to amoebic meningoencephalitis in all experimental groups except in the offspring born to non-immune mothers. Mean of survival time, which is the duration of survival of mice from infection to death, was delayed in the groups of mice born to immune mothers, immune mice born to immune mothers. Active or passive protective immunity against N. fowleri infection was demonstrated in the immunized mice and mice born to immune mothers. But the effectiveness of immunization was greatly impaired in terms of mortality in the immune mice born to immune mothers when N. fowleri was infected intranasally.

Figures


	Fig. 1 The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns of mice serum recorded by the densitometer at 575nm.


	Fig. 2 Survival rates of mice infected with Naegleria fowleri in the groups of control, mice born to immune mothers (Im-Non) and mice born to infected mothers (SIn-Non).


	Fig. 3 Survival rates of mice infected with Naegleria fowleri in the groups of control, mice born to immune mothers (Im-Non), immune mice born to non-immune mothers (Non-Im), and immune mice born to immune mothers (Im-Im).

Tables


	Table 1 Serum fluorescent antibody titer in mice immunized with N. fowleri by intraperitoneal injection


	Table 2 Mortality and survival time of mice infected with N. fowleri in each control and experimental group

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