Activation of Complement by Hydatid Cyst Fluid of Echinococcus granulosus

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Abstract
Factors present in hydatid cyst [originally derived from secondary infections in jirds (Meriones unguiculatus)] fluid of E. granulosus interacted with complement from several species. This nonimmunologic fixation resulted in the depletion of hemolytically active complement from fresh guinea pig serum, the conversion of human C3 [complement component 3] to an electrophoretically faster species and the generation of smooth muscle contracting substances, analogous to anaphylatoxins, in normal rat serum in vitro. Vascular permeability changes were produced in vivo in rats and humans after intradermal inoculation of complement interacting fractions of hydatid fluid. These factors may contribute to the pathogenesis of the shock syndrome which follows i.v. administration of hydatid fluid in normal animals and to the nonspecificity of immunodiagnostic skin tests for hydatid infection in man and animals.