IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SCHISTOSOMA-MANSONI ANTIGENS RECOGNIZED BY T-LYMPHOCYTES AND B-LYMPHOCYTES OF HUMANS WITH EARLY ACTIVE INTESTINAL AND OR URINARY SCHISTOSOMIASIS/

Schistosome antigens selected as vaccine candidates should induce in t he majority of humans T and B cell-mediated immunity that results in p rotection against infection. As a first step towards the identificatio n of such antigens, we attempted to define and characterize the solubl e adult Schistosoma mansoni worm antigen (SAWA) bands that are recogni zed by serum antibodies and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cells of E gyptian children with early active S. mansoni and/or S. haematobium in fection, Considerable inter-subject variation was observed in the SAWA bands recognized by antibodies and T lymphocytes, as demonstrated by Western blotting and T tell Western assays, respectively. The humoral response rate for the separated SAWA bands varied between 0% and 88% o f infected subjects. The bands of 153, 144, 38 and 32 kDa reacted with the sera of 60 to 88% of infected subjects but not with the sera of u ninfected controls. The bands of 144, 38, 32 and 18 kDa elicited proli ferative responses in the lymphocytes of 42-63% of infected subjects, It was thus concluded that the SAWA bands of 144, 38 and 32 kDa are li kely to carry T and B cell epitopes that could stimulate immune respon ses in a majority of individuals. The selected bands (144, 38 and 32 k Da) were found to include glycoproteins containing D-mannopyranosyl or glycosyl residues, and respectively 62.5, 46 and 55% amino acids by w eight, The amino acid molar ratios of these bands were completely diff erent,