ABSTRACT
Immune complexes (IC) were isolated from sera of six chronic schistosomiasis patients in order to study the regulatory mechanisms of granulomatous hypersensitivity to Schistosoma mansoni egg antigens in vitro. Purified blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients (N = 14) with active schistosome infection when treated with a pool of isolated IC were able to inhibit granulomatous hypersensitivity as determined in an in vitro model of granuloma formation. The suppressive effect of IC on granuloma index varied from 33 per cent to 73 per cent . Analysis of the in vitro proliferation of PBMC from individuals infected with S. mansoni on blastogenesis assay (N = 7) showed that isolated IC were able to induce a suppression degree on cell proliferation from 31 per cent to 93 per cent . Significant inhibition of the in vitro granuloma reaction continued to be present after treatment of PBMC with supernatant from IC treated chronic patient cells. These results demonstrate that circulating IC may down-regulate granulomatous hypersensitivity to S. mansoni eggs in patients with chronic intestinal schistosomiasis