Attempts to modify lung granulomatous responses to Schistosoma japonicum eggs in low and high responder mouse strains.

A radioisotopic assay for acute granulomatous hypersensitivity (AGH) to lyophilized eggs of Schistosoma japonicum has been used to further examine responses to egg antigens in various inbred strains of mice. The ranking of responsiveness in mice from high (C57BL/6), intermediate (BALB/c) to low (CBA/H) was not influenced by high or low egg-sensitization regimens. However, the low responsiveness of responder mice sensitized with eggs by the intraperitoneal compared with the subcutaneous route of injection appears to be an egg dose-related phenomenon. The high AGH responsiveness of C57BL/6 mice can be increased further by sensitization with eggs in the presence of purified pertussigen from Bordetella pertussis but CBA/H mice treated identically remain low responders. The monoclonal anti-egg antibody, P.41, which produces a prominent bleb-type circumoval precipitate with eggs, has been shown to be directed against major 'immunopathologic antigen(s)' of S. japonicum eggs. Thus, C57BL/6 mice were sensitized for AGH by injection of soluble extracted egg antigen (SEA) bound to an immunoabsorbent of P.41 antibody on Sepharose. No success has been achieved in modulating AGH in C57BL/6 mice by injection of hyperimmune antisera raised against lyophilized eggs in either high or low responder mouse strains. This failure is in line with previous results using antisera as well as monoclonal anti-egg antibodies. The consistent failure to demonstrate a modulating effect of antibodies in this compared with other laboratories may be related to the use of lyophilized rather than viable eggs. The data suggest that activities of antisera in granuloma modulation in murine schistosomiasis japonica result from egg destruction or inhibition of production of immunopathologic antigens by eggs rather than through effects on immunopathologic immune responses.