γδ T-cells may interfere with a productive immune response in Plasmodium yoelii infections

Mice lacking αβ T-cells or γδ T-cells were infected with Plasmodium yoelii 17X NL (non-lethal) and followed for parasitaemia and cytokine production. While the parasitaemia in wild type mice resolved after reaching a peak value of 30 to 50%, it persisted in the -αβ T-cell mice until death. However, in the -γδ T-cell mice the peak parasitaemia was 12.5% of the levels seen in the wild type and -αβ T-cell mice and resolved faster than in the wild type mice. Higher levels of IL-10 and IFN-γ were consistently found in the wild type and -γδ T-cell mice but not in the -αβ T-cell mice.