Anisakis simplex: stage-specific antigens recognized by mice

To investigate antigenic differences between the developmental stages of Anisakis simplex, somatic, excretion-secretion and detergent-solubilized surface antigen preparations of third- and fourth-stage A. simplex larvae, and a somatic antigen preparation of adults, were characterized by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting using mouse immune serum containing antibodies against the two larval stages. Excretion-secretion and surface antigen preparations from third-stage larvae behaved very differently from those of fourth-stage larvae, in both SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting; this suggests that certain excretion-secretion and surface antigens are highly stage-specific. By contrast, somatic components of third- and fourth-stage larvae were found to have very similar banding patterns, suggesting conservation of these components during the development of the parasite in mice. The SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting results for adult somatic components seem to support this hypothesis.