The immune mechanism which expels the intestinal stage of Trichinella spiralis from rats

Abstract

The immunological response of rats to the intestinal phase of Trichinella spiralis was assessed using criteria derived from pervious studies with the nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis in rats and mice. In adult rats, the duration of infection with either parasite is similar and both infections are prolonged in young and lactating rats. As previously shown with N. brasiliensis, immunity to T. spiralis was transferred to recipients with antiserum or mesenteric lymph node cells from immune donors and antisera and cells given in combination had an additive effect. Signs of damage similar to that caused by antibodies in N. brasiliensis appeared in T. spiralis adult worms as the infection progressed and this damage occurred earlier in animals given antiserum or cells. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that the immunological control of adult T. spiralis requires both antibodies and cells, but the relative importance of these components and the way in which they affect T. spiralis requires further analysis.