Antibody response against schistosomulum surface antigens and protective immunity following immunization with highly irradiated cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni

Abstract

The production of antibodies against the schistosomulum surface antigens of Schistosoma mansoni in response to immunization with highly irradiated cercariae was followed. Four antigens were reproducibly identified by 125I surface labelling using Iodogen and immunoprecipitation; they had mol. wts of 38, 32, 20 and 15 kD. In addition a 92 kD antigen was also evident in most experiments. It was demonstrated that the 20 kD antigen was the same as that recognized by the monoclonal antibody NIMP/M.47 and that this antigen like the 38 and 32 kD antigens was thus identified during both chronic infection and following vaccination with irradiated cercariae. Two weeks following immunization with irradiated cercariae antibody was produced only against the 15 kD antigen but at 4 weeks the major response was against the 32 kD antigen. A second immunization with irradiated cercariae boosts the antibody response so that all four antigens were strongly precipitated. Further vaccinations did not lead to the identification of further antigens. Immunization of rats with highly irradiated cercariae also resulted in antibody production against the 38, 32, 20 and 15 kD antigens. Surface labelling of schistosomula transformed from irradiated cercariae resulted in the same four antigens being precipitated as from normal cercariae indicating that irradiation did not affect transformation nor antigen expression on 3h schistosomula. Furthermore, antibodies against the same surface antigens were detectable 4 weeks after immunization with equal numbers of cercariae irradiated with 0, 5, 25 or 50 krad. Vaccination of mice with irradiated, cloned cercariae resulted in identical antibody production and similar levels of immunity directed at both an homologous or heterogeneous challenge. Thus all parasites within our laboratory population appear to express the same antigens and there was no evidence for a genetically defined variation that could account for the partial resistance to reinfection exhibited by mice vaccinated with irradiated cercariae.