Isotype-specific immune responses in murine experimental anisakiasis

A murine experimental model of anisakiasis has been developed in BALB/c and C57BL/10 mice orally inoculated with an Anisakis simplex living third stag e larva (L3) in order to investigate isotype-specific immune responses agai nst excretory-secretory (ES) products and crude extracts (CE) from L3. Spec ific antibody production showed similar patterns against both ES and CE ant igens with higher levels against the latter. The dynamics of the production showed the earliest responses in BALB/c, in which antibodies were principa lly of the immunoglobulin (Ig)M isotype. Responses to the IgG1 subclass wer e mainly produced in the C57BL/10 strain. Levels of IgG2a were practically undetectable. With sera from C57BL/10 mice high levels of the IgG2b isotype were detected. A slight IgG3 response was only detected against the CB ant igen in the C57BL/10 strain by the end of the experiment and IgA responses were very low. Humoral responses against A. simplex antigens are different depending on individual characteristics and thymus-independent epitopes mig ht be represented into A. simplex antigens and their stimuli could be diffe rent regarding the murine strain used.