Considering that a high dose Δplp1 infection, which fail to cause acute mortality, induced peak local cytokine levels and parasite burden comparable to lethal WT RH or high dose Type II strain infections (17), our results suggest that PLP1 and/or factors associated with its expression, combined with parasite load, is sufficient to generate a lethal overstimulation of the immune response. This evidence concerns the gene PLP1 and infection.