Studies on the Mechanism of the Self-Cure Reaction in Rats Infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis.

The production of ovalbumin-induced anaphylaxis in rats passively immunized with antiserum to Nippostrongylus brasiliensis produced a significant reduction in their transplanted populations of adult worms compared to: (a) rats which were passively immunized alone, and (b) rats subjected to ovalbumin anaphylaxis alone. This result suggests that the physical changes associated with anaphylaxis facilitated the passage of antibody into the sub-epithelial spaces and intestinal lumen where its effect was specifically directed against the worms. Since in naturally infected rats an intestinal lesion is present, which grossly and microscopically resembles that induced by ovalbumin anaphylaxis, it was concluded that this lesion plays a similar role in the self-cure reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]