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Studies on Granuloma Formation. IV

In Vivo Antigenicity of Schistosome Egg Antigen in Lung Tissue¹

From the Department of Pathology, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract

"Recipient" mice were sensitized intraperitoneally and subcutaneously with cell-free lung-granuloma homogenates obtained from "donor" mice at variable intervals following a single intravenous injection of purified eggs of Schistosoma mansoni. The recipients were then challenged intravenously with intact schistosome eggs, and the percentages of pseudotubercles reacting with immunofluorescent antibody on the 8th day after challenge were compared a) between sensitized mice and their controls, and b) between recipients of homogenates of lung-granulomas ranging in duration from 1 to 180 days. These results were also compared with earlier data on immunofluorescent antibody titers.

Using the immunofluorescent-stainable PAS-positive antigen produced by miracidia (SSA) in the pseudotubercles as an indicator, it was shown that lung-granuloma homogenates remained sensitizing through the 30th day of the evolution of the primary pseudotubercle, i.e., well beyond the time of appearance of the corresponding antibody in donor sera.

It is proposed that antigen sequestration results in the maintenance of a gradient of antigen concentration between the granuloma center and the milieu interne of the host, so that antigen excess may prevail in situ at a time of systemic antibody excess. The general applicability of this concept to granulomatous tissue responses is discussed.

Footnotes

¹ This work was supported by Grant AI-2631 of the National Institutes of Health, and by Contract DA-49-194-MD-2253 of the Office of the Surgeon General, Armed Forces Epidemiological Board.

² Present address: Department of Medicine, Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio.