Mice lacking Programmed cell death-1 show a role for CD8+ T cells in long-term immunity against blood-stage malaria

Joshua M. Horne-Debets, Deshapriya S. Karunarathne, Rebecca J. Faleiro, Chek Meng Poh, Laurent Renia, Michelle N. Wykes

Even after years of experiencing malaria, caused by infection with Plasmodium species, individuals still have incomplete immunity and develop low-density parasitemia on re-infection. Previous studies using the P. chabaudi (Pch) mouse model to understand the reason for chronic malaria, found that mice with a deletion of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1KO) generate sterile immunity unlike wild type (WT) mice. Here we investigated if the mechanism underlying this defect during acute immunity also impacts on long-term immunity. We infected WT and PD-1KO mice with Pch-malaria and measured protection as well as immune responses against re-infections, 15 or 20 weeks after the original infection had cleared. WT mice showed approximately 1% parasitemia compared to sterile immunity in PD-1KO mice on re-infection. An examination of the mechanisms of immunity behind this long-term protection in PD-1KO mice showed a key role for parasite-specific CD8(+) T cells even when CD4(+) T cells and B cells responded to re-infection. These studies indicate that long-term CD8(+) T cell-meditated protection requires consideration for future malaria vaccine design, as part of a multi-cell type response.