Immunogenicity of haptenated schistosomula in vitro

Skin-stage schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni modified with 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl (TNP) induce primary anti-TNP plaque-forming cell (PFC) responses in normal mouse spleen cells in vitro. The PFC are TNP-specific, and the response is dependent on adherent cells and T lymphocytes. In contrast, comparably haptenated lung stage larvae are weakly or nonimmunogenic in this system, and their inability to stimulate anti-TNP PFC cannot be attributed to a toxic or suppressive effect. These observations suggest that maturation of schistosomula in vivo is accompanied by a decline in their immunogenicity, which, along with other adaptive mechanisms, may promote the survival of parasites in the host environment.