Antibody response of carp, Cyprinus carpio to the cestode, Bothriocephalus acheilognathi.
The humoral antibody response and the number of pronephric antibody-secreting cells were examined in naturally Bothriocephalus acheilognathi-infected carp. Cyprinus carpio, and in those injected intraperitoneally with an extract of the cestode. In the extract-injected fish, specific antibody was detected 3 weeks after a second injection given 2 weeks after the primary injection, and antibody levels persisted for more than 200 days. A third injection also enhanced the antibody level in the extract-injected carp. The numbers of antibody-secreting cells were significantly higher in carp injected 3 times with the extract than in the control. In naturally-infected fish, the serum antibody levels and the number of pronephric antibody-secreting cells were higher in infected fish than in uninfected individuals although this difference was not statistically significant. The relevance of these results to immune protection against infection is discussed.
Nie
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Laboratory of Fish Diseases, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, P. R. China.
Hoole
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D
D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D002347:Carps / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D002452:Cell Count / Q000379:methods; D002589:Cestoda / Q000276:immunology*; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000166:cytology; D014020:Tissue Extracts / Q000276:immunology
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D014020:Tissue Extracts