Time courses of antibody levels in mastomys natalensis after infections with litomosoides carinii dipetalonema viteae brugia malayi or brugia pahangi determined by elisa enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay
Tandon, A.; Zahner, H.; Saenger, I.; Mueller H A.; Reiner, G.
Zeitschrift fuer Parasitenkunde 69(5): 681-692
1983
Accession: 006807781
Using a L. carinii adult antigen, time courses of antibody levels were followed by an ELISA in L. carinii, D. viteae, B. malayi and B. pahangi infected M. natalensis. Using various groups of infected animals, periods up to 400 days after infection were covered. In L. carinii infected Mastomys, antibodies were first detected 11 days p.i. [postinfection] and levels increased rapidly until day 40. Temporarily reduced levels about the beginning of patency were followed by increasing values until about 100 days p.i. Then the antibody content of the sera remained more or less constant until about 250 days p.i. although maximum levels were found at day 170. The antibody concentration in the sera declined slowly but high levels were still observed 390 days p.i. The antibody content was usually higher in animals with high microfilariae densities than in those with low microfilariae counts but relations could not be proven statistically. In D. viteae infected Mastomys, maximum antibody values were reached within the beginning of patency. Levels were not altered markedly until 110 days p.i. Thereafter they decreased slightly but then remained constant until the end of the investigation period 350 days p.i. B. malayi infected animals showed a rapid increase of the antibody content in the sera; a maximum was reached by 20 days after the infection. Thereafter, somewhat constant levels were found for 4-5 mo. After 200 day p.i. the antibody levels declined progressively, accompanied with increasing parasitemia densities; after 380 days the levels reached about 2/3 of the maximum. However, despite this, no relation was found between the levels of parasitemia and antibody in individual animals. In B. pahangi infections the main prepatent antibody increase occurred during week 5 p.i., when maximum values were observed. The beginning of patency and the early patency were accompanied with slightly declining antibody levels. From 150 days p.i. until the end of the investigation 400 days p.i., the antibody content of the sera was fairly constant.