Effect of artesunate treatment on the acquisition of specific immunity of mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii

To investigate the effect of artesunate treatment on the acquisition of specific immunity of mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii, DBA/2 and BALB/c mice were infected intraperitoneally with erythrocytes parasited with Plasmodium yoelii. There were three groups each, one group was infected without treatment, the other two groups were treated by artesunate on day 3 and day 6 postinfection respectively. Thirty days after a salfresolved or cured primary infection, they were reinfected and 30 days after reinfection was resolved they were infected for the third course.The level of parasitemia and resistance following infections were observed. Except the death of BALB/c mice infected without treatment during early infection, there was no difference in the rate of infection and the level of parasitemia in the secondary infection among DBA/2 mice untreated or treated on different times. They all resisted the third infection. As BALB/c mice treated at different time the rate of infection and the level of parasitemia in the secondary infection and their resistance to the third infection were alike with those of DBA/2 mice. To DBA/2 mice and BALB/c mice, whose immune response to primary infection with Plasmodium yoelii were different, artesunate could not influence the acquisition of specific immunity and the maintenance of memory immunity.