3.3. Trypanolytic capacity of primate sera
Only mandrill and human sera (NHS) efficiently lysed Trypanosoma brucei brucei, with relative survival 0.101 ± 0.005 (mean ± SD; p < 0.001) and 0.068 ± 0.074 (p < 0.001), respectively (Supplementary data 2). When the cultured Trypanosoma brucei gambiense cells were subjected to the panel of different sera, the lytic factor allowing their limited killing was present only in the mandrill's serum (0.488 ± 0.087; p < 0.001). As anticipated, NHS failed to lyse Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, with a relative survival of 0.886 ± 0.170 (p > 0.05) (Supplementary data 2), while this pathogen also prospered in the other sera. The cultured Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense cells were very efficiently lysed by the mandrill serum (0.138 ± 0.001; p < 0.001), with the sera of spider monkey and orangutan showing a moderate lysis (0.837 ± 0.054, p < 0.01 and 0.848 ± 0.067, p < 0.01 respectively). Under our conditions, NHS caused a very minor yet significant lysis as well (0.874 ± 0.075; p < 0.05).