Immunomodulation by Propionibacterium granulosum KP 45 and experimental trichinellosis in mice.

Swiss mice were infected orally with 200 Trichinella spiralis larvae and injected intraperitoneally with a potent immunomodulator (isolated cell walls of Propionibacterium granulosum strain KP 45). In control mice 22 871 +/- 9913 larvae were found in the whole body, whereas in mice treated with P. granulosum KP 45 on the day of inoculation 9450 larvae +/- 8244 larvae were counted (p less than 0.01). Immunomodulation 7 days before or 7 days after T. spiralis inoculation gave less pronounced effects but the decreasing number of larvae was still significant. It is suggested that the above effects are due to an activation of macrophages.