A Study on the Activity of Antibodies Immunreaction to the Antigen of Paragonimus westermani

폐흡충에 대한 면역항체의 면역반응 활성에 관한 연구

This study was performed to investigate the activity of antibodies in the tissues of Paragonimus westermani at the different developmental stages. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Immunelectron microscopy (IEM) were applied, using the dog sera infected with metacercariae isolated from Cambaroides similis. These dog sera were obtained from 3rd to 96th week after infection by bleeding. The supernatants of homogenated worms for worm antigen were used. The worm tissues were embedded in Lowicryl HM 20 medium, treated with infected serum and protein A gold complex (particle size; 12 nm) and observed by electron microscope. In the pattern of antibody levels by ELISA test in all developemental worm antigens, the activity of antibody was very weak in the 3rd week, but strong in the worm antibody from 4th to 20th week after infection. Its activity was maintained even till 96th week. The antibody level of the L2th week worm antigen was higher than those of the 20th and 48th week worm antigens. Generally, many gold particles were observed on the secretory granules and the epithelial lamellae. Thus, it was concluded that the antigenic materials in the developmental worm tissues were especially concentrated on the secretory granules in the parenchymal tissues and the epithelial lamellae in the lumen of the caecum.