Antigen stripping from the nematode epicuticle using the cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)

The cuticular antigens of adult Nematospiroides dubius were selectively removed using the cationic detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Nonionic, zwitterionic or anionic detergents were ineffective in comparison. The biochemical profile of the antigens removed by detergent was identical to that of surface antigens removed by homogenization, with the added advantage that detergent-stripped antigens lacked many of the background antigens (excretory/secretory--ES and somatic) seen in homogenates. In addition, the detergent was shown to act in a non-invasive manner as electron micrographs failed to reveal any gross damage to the nematode outer cuticle. The observed selective release of significant quantities of relatively clean nematode surface antigen by CTAB in a non-invasive or destructive manner provides the impetus for definitive studies on the relevance of surface antigens (in the absence of ES or somatic antigens) to the overall immunogenicity of this and other parasites.