Lymphocyte response in mice infected with the Indonesian and Formosan strains of Schistosoma japonicum to concanavalin A, and to worm and egg antigens.

ABSTRACT

Cultures of splenocytes from mice infected with the Formosan and Indonesian strains of Schistosoma japonicum demonstrated a blastogenic response to concanavalin A (Con-A), adult worm antigen (SAA) and soluble egg antigen (SEA). The incorporation of tritiated thymidine was significantly greater for lymphocytes from mice infected with the pathogenic Indonesian strain than for lymphocytes from mice infected with the non-pathogenic Formosan strain in response to SAA; the responses also increased with duration of infection. The response to SEA, however, was only greater for the Indonesian strain, than that for the Formosan strain, at six weeks and the differences in response not statistically significant at five, seven, and nine weeks post-infection. The differences may have been associated with the number of worms developing in the mice since the adult worm recovery for the Indonesian strain was nearly twice that of recoveries from mice infected with the Formosan strain.