Schistosoma mansoni: autoantibodies and polyclonal B cell activation in infected mice

The appearance of autoantibodies was investigated during the course of Schistosoma mansoni infection in C57Bl/6 mice. Anti-liver autoantibodies or lymphocyte-reactive alloantibodies were detected respectively without cell-mediated immunity against liver antigen or lymphocytotoxic activity. Anti-liver, anti-DNA, anti-Ig and anti-lymphocyte antibodies were shown 6-7 weeks after the beginning of the infection concomitantly with the increase of immunoglobulin levels and circulating immune complexes. At this period, the antibody response to polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was increased and the injection of spleen cells from day-45-infected mice to uninfected recipients increased the anti-PVP antibody response. Conversely, the injection of spleen cells from uninfected to infected mice did not modify the anti-PVP Ab response. After 6 weeks of infection, the basal thymidine incorporation of spleen cells was increased contrasting with the marked inhibition of spleen cell response to PHA. The present data are consistent with the induction of a polyclonal non-specific B cell activation by S. mansoni.