Larval cestodes immunity

Miller, H.M. and Kerr, K.B. (1932) Attempts to immunize rabbits against a larval cestode, Cysticercus pisi-formis. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 29, 670-671. 

Mitchell, G.F., Goding, J.W. and Rickard, M.D. (1977) Studies on immune responses to larval cestodes in mice. Increased susceptibility of certain mouse strains and hypothymic mice to Taenia taeniaeformis and analysis of passive transfer of resistance with serum. Australian Journal of Experimental Biology and Medical Science 55, 165-1 86. 

Valuable reviews on various aspects of immunity to larval cestodes are those of Flisser et al. (225, 226), Lloyd (447), Rickard (686, 687), Rickard Lightowlers (690) and Rickard Williams (691). Early work has been reviewed by Smyth (796). 

One parenteral cestode that is widely accepted as a model for cysticercosis caused by T. solium in humans is Taenia crassiceps, which is found as an adult in foxes and has a rodent intermediate host. Larval T. crassiceps reproduce by budding in the peritoneal cavity of mice and can be serially transferred from mouse to mouse. The immune response, which controls larval growth, relies on T cell-mediated immune mechanisms (Lopez-Briones et al., 2001) and treatments resulting in increased delayed type hypersensitivity led to greater resistance, while AB production was unaffected (Bojalil eta/., 1993). 

Egg-induced immunity appears to involve stage-specific immunogens against (a) the tissue phase of egg challenge (early response) and (b) the lumen phase of cysticercoid challenge (late response). This immunogenetic pattern is thus similar to the development of early and late immunity in larval taeniid cestodes (Fig. 11.7). The effector mechanism of the early response has been shown to be thymus dependent, X-irradiation sensitive, cell mediated and antibody mediated the response is visualised by eosinophilia infiltration around the invading oncospheres (Fig. 11.6) (353). 

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