title: Cross-reactivity among antisera raised against five avian Eimeria species in the natural host and in rabbits.
abstract: Water- and SDS-soluble antigens were prepared from purified sporulated oocysts of Eimeria acervulina, E. maxima, E. necatrix, E. praecox and E. tenella. Reactivity of . chicken hyperimmune anti-Eimeria sera, rabbit anti-oocyst and rabbit anti-sporozoite sera with the homologous and heterologous oocyst antigens were determined and cross-reactivities were expressed as a percentage of those homologous sera. The results demonstrated that the antisera from chickens infected naturally with Eimeria species differed in their reactivities from those of the rabbit antisera. Occurrence of a high level cross-reactivity among the chicken antisera may suggest that the development of parasites inside the host cells, or the production of substances during the life-cycle, affect the extent of immune responses and that most non-protective antibodies are cross-reactive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Talebi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mulcahy