Trypanosoma rhodesiense infection in mice: Sex dependence of resistance

There is a large variation in the survival of inbred mouse strains infected with Trypanosoma rhodesiense (EATRO 1886). Of those strains that survived for at least 22 days postinfection, female mice were markedly more resistant than male mice. The longer a strain survived, the greater was the difference in survival between male and female mice. Parasite counts were higher in male mice than in females, suggesting that the decreased resistance of males was due to their relative inability to control parasite growth. To determine the possible role of an X-linked resistance gene, resistant (C57BL/6) and susceptible (BALB/c) mice were mated, and their F1 progeny were infected with T. rhodesiense. There was no difference in the resistance between reciprocal F1 male mice (C57BL/6 x BALB/c versus BALB/c x C57BL/6), indicating that an X-linked gene does not account for the difference in resistance between susceptible and resistant mice.