Deletion of T cells bearing the V beta8.1 T-cell receptor following mouse mammary tumor virus 7 integration confers resistance to murine cerebral malaria

Plasmodium bergheiANKA induces a fatal neurological syndrome known as cerebral malaria (CM) in susceptible mice. Host genetic elements are among the key factors determining susceptibility or resistance to CM. Analysis of mice of the sameH-2haplotype revealed that mouse mammary tumor virus 7 (MTV-7) integration into chromosome 1 is one of the key factors associated with resistance to neurological disease duringP. bergheiANKA infection. We investigated this phenomenon by infecting a series of recombinant inbred mice (CXD2), derived from BALB/c (susceptible to CM) and DBA/2 (resistant to CM) mice, withP. bergheiANKA. We observed differences in susceptibility to CM induced by thisPlasmodiumstrain. Mice with the MTV-7 sequence in their genome were resistant to CM, whereas those without integration of this gene were susceptible. Thus, an integrated proviral open reading frame or similar genomic sequences may confer protection against neuropathogenesis during malaria, at least in mice.