Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Jan 1987)

Human antibody responses to Schistosoma mansoni: does antigen directed, isotype restriction result in the production of blocking antibodies?

  • David W. Dunne,
  • Anthony J. C. Fulford,
  • Anthony E. Butterworth,
  • David Koech,
  • John H. Ouma

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761987000800016
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 82
pp. 101 – 104

Abstract

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After treatment young Kenyan schoolchildren are highly susceptible to reinfection with Schistosoma mansoni. Older children and adults are resistant to reinfection. There is no evidence that this age related resistance is due to a slow development of protective immunological mechanisms, rather, it appears that young children are susceptible because of the presence of blocking antibodies which decline with age, thus allowing the expression of protective responses. Correlations between antibody responses to different stages of the parasite life-cycle suggest that, in young children, antigen directed, isotype restriction of the response against cross-reactive polysaccharide egg antigens results in an ineffectual, or even blocking antibody response to the schistosomulum.