Monoclonal antibodies against surface antigens of schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni.

Monoclonal antibodies have been produced after fusion of NS-1 murine myeloma cells with spleen cells from mice immunized either by chronic primary infection or with irradiated cercariae: in both cases, animals were challenged with liver cercariae 7 days before fusion. The initial cultures were screened for anti-schistosomular antibodies both by a radioimmunoassay with whole schistosomulum extracts and by immunofluorescence. There was no correlation between the two techniques and subsequent screening was carried out by immunofluorescence. Cloning was carried out in soft agar and 7 cloned cell lines, from 5 initial cultures, were selected for detailed study. Products of 6 of these 7 lines were monoclonal, as judged by isoelectricfocusing of [35S]methionine-labelled supernatant fluids, and their binding to live schistosomula was specific. None of the antibodies showed detectable activity in mediating eosinophil- or complement-dependent damage to schistosomula in vitro. However, 2 antibodies were successfully used to isolate surface proteins with an apparent molecular weight of 24 000 on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.