WORM KINETICS AND SERUM IGE IN HOODED LISTER RATS INFECTED WITH THE ACANTHOCEPHALAN MONILIFORMIS-MONILIFORMIS AND THE NEMATODE NIPPOSTRONGYLUS-BRASILIENSIS

After infection with the intestinal helminths Moniliformis moniliformi s or Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, worm-specific IgE first appeared in the serum of rats between days 10 and 24 p.i., varying with host age, worm species and worm dose used. The rate of increase in specific IgE was comparable regardless of the Norm species, infection dose or host age and a peak response was observed about 1 month after the sera tur ned positive. In the M. moniliformis infections, these events took pla ce long before the beginning of worm expulsion on day 63 in high-dose (50 worms) infections, and potentiation of heterologous IgE was not ob served. In contrast, IgE stimulation by N. brasiliensis infections was detected as potentiation of anti-ovalbumin IgE, anti-M. moniliformis IgE and total IgE. Most of the total IgE in the serum of M. moniliform is-infected rats was likely to be the worm-specific IgE. Anthelminthic removal of M. moniliformis revealed that the presence of residual wor ms was necessary to maintain worm-specific IgE production. Copyright ( C) 1996 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Sci ence Ltd.