Immunological tolerance to pig-serum partially inhibits the formation of septal fibrosis of the liver in Capillaria hepatica-infected rats.
Systhematized septal fibrosis of the liver can be induced in rats either by repeated intraperitoneal injections of pig-serum or by Capillaria hepatica infection. The relationship between these two etiological factors, as far as hepatic fibrosis is concerned, is not known, and present investigation attempts to investigate it. C. hepatica-induced septal fibrosis of the liver was considerably inhibited in rats previously rendered tolerant to pig-serum. Pig-serum-tolerant rats developed antibodies against pig-serum when infected with C. hepatica, but this did not happen when the infection occurred in normal rats. On the other hand, anti-C. hepatica antibodies failed to recognize any epitope in pig-serum, by Western blot. However, no evidence of an immunological cross reactivity was found, at least at the humoral level. Alternatively, cell-mediated mechanisms may be involved, and further investigations are warranted.
Andrade
Rodrigo Guimarães
RG
Laboratorio de Patologia Experimental, Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz-Fiocruz, Rua Valdemar Falcão 121, 41295-001 Salvador, BA, Brazil.
Gotardo
Bruna Magalhães
BM
Assis
Bárbara Cristina A
BC
Mengel
José
J
Andrade
Zilton A
ZA
D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002195:Capillaria / Q000276:immunology*; D017189:Enoplida Infections / Q000150:complications*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D008106:Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D008109:Liver Diseases, Parasitic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013552:Swine
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth