Lymphocyte anergy specific to Toxoplasma gondii antigens in a baby with congenital toxoplasmosis.

A baby's clinical course during her first year of life documented her congenital infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Certain of her peripheral blood lymphocyte subtype numbers and functions were studied at intervals during this year: This patient's lymphocytes did not respond to Toxoplasma gondii antigens when she was 2 or 6 months old but did respond when she was 1 year old. Her lymphocyte anergy appeared to be a specific impairment or delay in lymphocyte blastogenic response to T. gondii antigens as her peripheral blood lymphocytes responded normally to the T-cell mitogen Concanavalin A and to allogeneic lymphocytes in mixed lymphocyte cultures. She had normal numbers of total peripheral blood lymphocytes and normal proportions of peripheral blood T cells with T4 and T8 surface antigens.