Plasmodium berghei is the rodent equivalent of Plasmodium falciparum which causes cerebral malaria in humans. However, P. berghei does not cause cerebral malaria in BALB/c mice, instead it leads to parasitemia, fever and some degree of liver damage. Although different aspects of immunological response have been intensively investigated in malaria; this the first time the in vitro effect of P. berghei antigen lysate on murine NK cytotoxic activity was studied. It was observed that this parasite antigen lysate suppresed the cytolytic activity of NK cells in a dose-dependent manner. Because the suppression of NK cell activity in a dose-dependent manner by P. berghei antigen lysate is not in harmony with the fact that BALB/c mice is resistant to cerebral malaria caused by this parasite in other rodents, we concluded thet NK cell activity may not play a major role in this resistance.

Plasmodium berghei is the rodent equivalent of Plasmodium falciparum which causes cerebral malaria in humans. However, P. berghei does not cause cerebral malaria in BALB/c mice, instead it leads to parasitemia, fever and some degree of liver damage. Although different aspects of immunological response have been intensively investigated in malaria; this the first time the in vitro effect of P. berghei antigen lysate on murine NK cytotoxic activity was studied. It was observed that this parasite antigen lysate suppresed the cytolytic activity of NK cells in a dose-dependent manner. Because the suppression of NK cell activity in a dose-dependent manner by P. berghei antigen lysate is not in harmony with the fact that BALB/c mice is resistant to cerebral malaria caused by this parasite in other rodents, we concluded thet NK cell activity may not play a major role in this resistance.