Resistance of AKR Mice to Lymphoid Leukemia Associated With a Chronic Protozoan Infection, Besnoitia jellisoni

Abstract

To determine the effect of a chronic protozoan infection on the course of spontaneous leukemia, AKR mice congenitally infected with Gross strain A virus were infected with Besnoitia jellisoni, an obligate intracellular parasite. The infected mice survived significantly longer than the mice without B. jellisoni. AKR mice also had a greater resistance than 7 other strains to an acute B. jellisoni challenge. This reciprocal resistance between a chronic protozoan and congenital virus infection is probably due to activated macrophages.