[Immunostimulatory effects of certain substances in experimental ascaridiasis in pigs]

The effects were studied of four immunomodulative substances of biological origin (purified glucan, glucan with porcine immunoglobulin and zinc, transfer factor and vitamin A) on T and B lymphocytes, along with their protective effects in pigs with experimental ascariasis. These substances activated T and B lymphocytes with different intensity. The nonspecific stimulation of these cells in the blood of pigs with the immunomodulative substances intensified the protective mechanisms; this resulted in a decreased number of migrating ascaris larvae in the lungs of pigs by 17% to 65%. Of the four immunomodulative substances studied, transfer factor and glucan-based substances with porcine immunoglobulin and zinc proved to be the most effective. Both the substances exerted a significant stimulative effect on T- and B-cell populations even in the first days after infection, reaching the maximum on days 7-9 p. i. (Figs. 1 and 2). The protective effect, assessed by the reduction of migrating ascaris larvae in the lungs of pigs, was 62% and 65% using transfer factor and glucan preparation with homologous immunoglobulin and zinc, respectively. The percentage of occurrence of T and B lymphocytes, obtained by the use of purified glucan and vitamin A, was not in correlation with their protective effect (purified glucan 17%, vitamin A 50%). The immunomodulative effects of little effective purified glucan increased when combined with porcine immunoglobulin and zinc. The results are significant from the aspect of the nonspecific stimulation of immunity in ascariasis and in some other helminthoses.