[Immunofluorescent reaction of antibodies against antigens of the intestinal epithelium of Schistosoma mansoni. I--In experimentally infested mice].

The present study was carried out to test with the immunofluorescent antibody test the presence of antibodies directed against the gut epithelium of adult schistosomes in experimental schistosomiasis in mice. Paraffin sections of adult female worms fixed in Rossman's fixative were used and antibodies of the different classes and subclasses could be studied with monospecific conjugates. IgM were the predominant antibodies: they appeared at day 12 after infection, reached a peak value by the 2nd month and remained present at lower levels by the 12th month. The different IgG subclasses were also present but they appeared later and tend to disappear in the chronically infected animal. IgA and IgE antibodies could not be detected. After treatment by Praziquantel, transitory but important elevation of antibodies was observed. No false positive reaction was observed with sera from mice infected by Fasciola hepatica or Trichinella spiralis.