Selection III mice have particular immunological
characteristics: they are high (H 111) or low (L 111) antibody
producer animals, yet both lines display similar T cell
responses and macrophage activities. We submitted these mice
to infection with Schistosoma mansoni 10 assess in vivo
parasite and egg burden, hepatic collagen and cellular
composition of granulomas in both lines. Titration of
anti-Schistosoma IgG by ELISA showed remarkably higher values
in H III line, at both studied periods (8th and 12th weeks
post-infection). Nevertheless, the number of adult worms
recovered from the portal system was similar in both lines,
being not associated with anti-Schistosoma antibody levels.
There is an increase in hepatic collagen from the 8th to the
12th weeks post-infection, which is paralleled by an increase
in the number of eggs in the liver. This association
apparently occurs at the same ratio in H III and L III
animals. The most important difference found between the two
lines was lhe outstanding contrast in terms of volume and
eosinophil counts in the granulomas, with lesions from H III
mice clearly being larger and containing more of these cells
than LIII lesions.
