Table 1.
Primary and secondary infection of T-cell receptor (TCR)-β–/– and TCR-(β × δ)–/– mice with Eimeria vermiformis
| Primary infection* | Secondary infection* | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exp. no. | Group | Strain of mouse: (β–/– lacks αβ T cells; β × δ–/– lacks αβ and γδ T cells) | No. of mice (deaths) | Oocyst output (× 106)† | Patent period (in days)† | No. of mice (deaths) | Oocyst output (× 106)† | Patent period (in days)† |
| 1 | A | TCR-β–/– | 6 (0) | 58·6 ± 6·3 | 14·0 ± 0·6 | 5 (0) | 41·2 ± 5·9 | 13·3 ± 0·3 |
| B | TCR-(β × δ)–/– | 6 (0) | 86·3 ± 10·8 | 13·4 ± 0·2 | 5 (1) | 74·5 ± 10·7 | 13·8 ± 0·3 | |
| C | TCR-(β × δ)+/– | 6 (0) | 9·5 ± 2·3 | 6·5 ± 0·2 | 6 (0) | 0·0 ± 0·0 | 0·0 ± 0·0 | |
| Primary infection controls‡ | ||||||||
| D | TCR-β–/– | 6 (0) | 38·9 ± 3·7 | 13·0 ± 0·4 | ||||
| E | TCR-(β × δ)–/– | 7 (2) | 81·8 ± 9·4 | 13·8 ± 0·4 | ||||
| F | C57.BL/6 | 5 (0) | 9·2 ± 2·7 | 7·4 ± 0·2 | ||||
| 2 | A | TCR-β–/– | 4 (0) | 44·7 ± 10·7 | 14·4 ± 0·4 | Not done | ||
| B | TCR-(β × δ)–/– | 4 (0) | 78·0 ± 8·1 | 13·8 ± 1·5 | Not done | |||
| C | C57.BL/6 | 4 (0) | 8·8 ± 0·6 | 7·3 ± 1·5 | Not done | |||
| 3 | A | TCR-(β × δ)–/– | 7 (1) | 134·0 ± 13·1 | 16·5 ± 0·6 | 6 (0) | 117·7 ± 19·2 | 14·2 ± 0·4 |
| B | C57.BL/6 | 5 (0) | 9·2 ± 1·1 | 8·0 ± 0·3 | Not done | |||
| C | TCR-(β × δ)–/– | Primary infection control | 5 (1) | 63·0 ± 24·4 | 13·8 ± 0·3 | |||
*
Secondary infections with 103 sporulated oocysts were initiated 4–7 weeks postprimary infection. Data is representative of two further experiments that are not presented.
†
Data from the oocyst output and the patent period are expressed as mean ± SE. Within experiments, different font types indicate significant differences (P < 0·05): italic denotes significantly greater susceptibility than C57.BL/6 mice; bold italic denotes significantly greater susceptibility than αβ T-cell-deficient mice.
‡
Primary infection controls were naive mice infected in parallel with the secondary infections shown in the right-hand columns.