TESTOSTERONE AND OTHER GONADAL FACTOR(S) RESTRICT THE EFFICACY OF GENES-CONTROLLING RESISTANCE TO PLASMODIUM-CHABAUDI MALARIA

The effect of circulating concentrations of testosterone (Te) on resistance to Plasmodium chabaudi malaria was investigated in the H-2 congenic mouse strains C57BL/10, B10.A, B10.A(3R), B10.A(4R), and B10.D2. Te-levels were determined by radioimmunoassay and resistance was expressed in terms of percent self-healers after challenge with 10(6) P. chabaudi-infected erythrocytes. Our data indicate: (i) Females and castrated males reveal very similar interstrain variations of resistance. These do not correlate with the interstrain variations of the Te-levels. This is consistent with the view that resistance to P. chaubaudi is controlled by genes of the H-2 complex and genes of the non-H-2 B10-background, (ii) The polygenic control of resistance is inefficacious at high Te-levels. This is evident as high susceptibilities of males, Te-treated females and Te-treated castrated males. Moreover, high Te-levels correlate with susceptibilities to P. chabaudi within mice of the same sex of a given strain, (iii) B10-males chemically castrated using buserelin display the same low Te-level as those surgically castrated. The latter become resistant, while the former remain as highly susceptible to P. chabaudi as untreated B10-males. Obviously, other gonadal factor(s), besides Te, impose restrictions on genes controlling resistance to P. chabaudi malaria.