[Comparative immunoelectrophoretic studies of total water-soluble extracts of Trichomonas vaginalis, T. tenax and T. hominis].

An antigen characterization was carried out by the method of two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis, and on this basis the antigen community and the antigenic differences between the 3 Trichomonas species parasitic in man were investigated. In the homologous antigen-antibody-systems a maximum number of precipitation curves is formed--21 in T. vaginalis and 20 each in T. tenax and T. hominis. According to our setting of the experiment T. vaginalis has 5 specific antigens in regard to T. tenax and 3 in regard to T. hominis. T. tenax has 2 specific antigens in regard to T. vaginalis and 7 in regard to T. hominis, T. hominis has 2 specific antigens in regard to T. vaginalis and 3 in regard to T. tenax. The presence of antigenic differences is important for the immunological characterization of the 3 species and demonstrates their validity.