Immunological recognition of larvalTaenia crassiceps glycolipids by sera from parasite-infected mice

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Abstract
The isolation and purification of a neutral glycolipid fraction fromTaenia crassiceps metacestodes (KBS strain), harvested from both male and female NMRI mice at 70–80 days following intraperitoneal infection, revealed 24 thin-layer chromatography-designated glycolipid bands. The glycolipids were defined as ceramide mono-(n=3), di-(n=3), tri-(n=4), tetra-(n=5), and >tetrasaccharides (n=9) according to their running properties as defined by thin-layer chromatography against standards of known structure. The defined glycolipids were tested for immunoreactivity with sera from noninfected andT. crassiceps-infected NMRI mice (intraperitoneal injection or implantation of 15 larvae/animal) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) until day 33 p.i. (IgM and IgG reaction) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) combined with immunostaining (IgG reaction) until day 7 p.i. ELISA-determined IgM and IgG titres were significantly elevated from day 5 p.i. Immunostaining revealed early reactivity for certain ceramide tetra- and >tetrasaccharides (n=6) on day 3 p.i. From day 5 p.i. onwards, nearly all glycolipids, including ceramide mono-and disaccharides, were recognized by the sera from metacestode-challenged mice. On day 7 p.i., a total of 22 bands were serologically active; of these, a considerable number (n=10) showed increased staining intensity. Remarkably, in many cases (10 of 20), 3 glycolipids (tetra-and >tetrasaccharides) were weakly recognized by mouse sera taken before infection.