Suppression of T-cell responsiveness during tsetse-transmitted trypanosomiasis in cattle.

In the present study, we demonstrate that lymph node cells from cattle infected with T. congolense through tsetse fly challenge were unable to proliferate in vitro following activation with the T-cell mitogen Concanavalin A. This was associated with a simultaneous suppression of interleukin 2 (IL-2) production and interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) expression. However, the capacity of the cells to secrete interferon gamma following the mitogenic activation was not affected by the infection.