Genetic control of immunity to Nematospiroides dubius: a 9‐day anthelmintic abbreviated immunizing regime which separates weak and strong responder strains of mice

Abstract

Summary Experiments were designed to re‐examine the variables which influence the ability of single primary infections to elicit acquired immunity to Nematospiroides dubius, in particular the importance of the presence or absence of adult worms, as these are known to exert immunomodulatory effects. Briefly, anthelmintic abbreviated infections were considerably more effective at eliciting acquired immunity than longer infections in which adult worms were allowed to reside in the intestine. A 9‐day anthelmintic abbreviated infection was extremely effective at stimulation of acquired immunity in NIH mice and very few immunising infection larvae were required. Immunity to subsequent reinfection developed rapidly after the primary infection worms had been eliminated; by day 21 post‐infection, the mice were almost totally immune. Abbreviated infections were used to examine the capacity of a number of mouse strains to develop immunity to reinfection. Strains of mice were chosen to allow the effects of MHC linked and non‐MHC linked (background) genes to be identified. CBA and C₃H strains (both H‐2^k) were found to be weak responders to N. dubius. B10G (H‐2^q) mice responded better than C57B1/10 (H‐2^b), although these strains have identical background genes. DBA/2 mice were stronger responders compared to BALB/c mice, both strains sharing a common MHC haplotype (H‐2^d). (NIH × B10G) F₁ mice (H‐2^q) were better responders than either of the parental strains. Several mouse strains all sharing the H‐2^q haplotype were particularly effective at developing immunity to N. dubius, as were also SJL mice which were the sole representatives of the H‐2^s haplotype, in the present study. The results established that the response phenotype is influenced by both background and MHC genes and demonstrated gene complementation in the capacity of mice to acquire immunity to N. dubius.