Immunity Relationships in White Mice Infected with Nematospiroides dubius Baylis, 1926 (Nematoda: Heligmosomidae). II. Artificial Immunization with Antigen Prepared from Larvae

Abstract

Artificial active immunity has been demonstrated with various parasitic nematodes. For example, Chandler (1936) demonstrated immunity against Nippostrongylus muris in rats after injections of antigen prepared from larvae and adult worms, and McCoy (1935), using dried, powdered larvae, immunized rats against a challenging infection with Trichinella spiralis. This type of immunity in mice also has been demonstrated by injections of the excretions and secretions of T. spiralis larvae (Campbell, 1955). As far as known, there have been no reports of attempts to produce artificially an active immunity against Nematospiroides dubius. However, in a previous report (Van Zandt, in press) it was shown that mice develop a striking immunity after three stimulating infections of 50 N. dubius larvae each given by mouth. Moreover, a similar degree of immunity was exhibited in other groups of mice treated with carbon tetrachloride (CC14) to remove the adults soon after their emergence into the lumen of the small intestine after each of the three oral infections. These results