SHORT REPORT: REQUIREMENT OF B CELLS FOR DELAYED TYPE HYPERSENSITIVITY-LIKE PATHOLOGY AFTER SECONDARY INFECTION WITH LEISHMANIA MAJOR IN RESISTANT C57BL/6 MICE

B cell-deficient C57B1/6 (microMT) mice were resistant to Leishmania major after both primary and secondary parasite challenge. However, unlike in wild-type mice, secondary infection in microMT mice was not accompanied by a marked delayed type hypersensitivity-like response, and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) levels were approximately half of those in wild-type mice. These results suggest that B cells are involved in IFN-gamma production and the pathology of secondary infection.