Trypanosoma rhodesiense infection in congenitally athymic (nude) mice.

Athymic nude mice (nu/nu), heterozygous litter mates (nu/+), and thymic reconstituted homozygous animals (nu/nu TxR) were infected with Trypanosoma rhodesiense. A reduced parasitemia and prolonged survival were observed in the nu/nu animals after infection and cure or after immunization with irradiated organisms. These studies indicate that resistance of mice to T. rhodesiense infection is relatively independent of thymic lymphocyte function.