The in vivo and in vitro ananlysis of immunity to Trichinella spiralis in mice and rats

Abstract

Wistar-Furth strain male rats and CFW strain male mice were immunized against Trichinella spiralis using an antegenic fraction derived from a cell-free homogenate of mature muscle larvae.In rats, animlas immunized with 250 μg of antigen harboured singnificantly fewer (135000) muscle larvae 30 days after oral challenge than controls (231000). Furhter 7-day-old adult worms derived from immunized rats shed 48% fewer (P < 0·001) newborn larvae over a 24 h period in vitro than adult worms from non-immunized animals.Mice were injected with either 10 or 100 μg of antigen. In comparison with non-immunized controls, mice immunized with 100μg of antigen harboured significantly fewer adult worms at days 7 and 9 after oral challenge infection, while female worms recovered from immune mice on days 6–10 after challenge shed fewer newborn larvae in vitro. Finally, mice immunized with 100μg of antigen harboured significantly fewer (10391) muscle larvae at 30 days after challenge than did controls (47750).Immunization of mice with 10μ of antigen did not induce a statistically significant reduction in adult worms at either days 7 or 9 after challenge (P < 0·5). However, adult female worms from mice receiving 10μg of antigen still shed fewer larvae than did adults from control mice (P < 0·05). Mice immunized with 10μg of antigen harboured significantly fewer (13700) recoverable muscle larvae than did controls at 30 days after challenge (39000).