Brodskyn C I, da Silva A M, Takehara H A, Mota I
P.A.H.O./W.H.O. Immunology Research and Training Center, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.
Immunol Lett. 1988 Aug;18(4):255-8. doi: 10.1016/0165-2478(88)90171-x.
Humans and mice chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi present a strong humoral immune response mediated by specific antibodies. Passive transfer of homologous immune serum to normal mice containing circulating bloodstream trypomastigotes (Bts) induces a very fast clearance of the parasites. In order to find out the role of the different immunoglobulin classes in the clearance, mice containing a known number of these parasite forms in circulation were injected with total immune serum, IgG-free serum, IgG1, or IgG2 fractions and the speed of removal of the parasites from circulation was determined. The results of these experiments suggest that the immune clearance of T. cruzi is due to antibodies located in the IgG isotype, particularly in the IgG2 subclass.
