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We have already demonstrated (Stojanovic et al., 2009) a connection between tetanus toxoid (TTd) hyperimmunization and the induction of anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS) in BALB/c mice. Here we show that C57BL/6 mice subjected to an identical procedure do not exhibit any like pathology attributable to anti-phospholipid antibodies; we explain that this absence results from idiotypic connectivity. Six groups of C57BL/6 mice were hyperimmunized with TTd in aluminum hydroxide or glycerol, with or without pretreatments. Pretreated mice had been injected with polyclonal or nonspecific immune stimulators, such as complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or glycerol. The epitope specificity of induced antibodies was tested by indirect ELISA using a tetanus toxoid immunogen and these autoantigens: phospholipids, gangliosides, laminin. Idiotypic connectivity was tested by competitive ELISA and gauged from the degree to which the interaction of idiotypic/anti-idiotypic complementary antibodies was inhibited in the presence of immunized sera antibodies. Higher idiotypic connectivity was noted amongst pretreated mice. There was a positive correlation between higher connectivity and autoantibody levels that acted to favor the participation of natural autoantibodies in the inhibitory process. We conclude that idiotypic connectivity plays a protective role in immunization-induced autoimmunity.

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Antigenic extracts from five Leishmania stocks were used to vaccinate C57BL/10 mice. The Leishvacin(R) and PH8 monovalent vaccine yielded the highest IFN-gamma levels in the supernatants of spleen cell culture from vaccinated animals. Each single strain immunized group showed evidence of protective immunity six months after the challenge with promastigotes of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis. No differences were detected between the vaccinated groups. It can be concluded that vaccines composed of single Leishmania stocks can provide protection to C57BL/10 mice against L. (L.) amazonensis infection.

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We analyzed the variations observed in the plasma levels of both alpha-macroglobulins (AM) and serum amyloid P (SAP) in mice from three different inbred strains (C3H, Balb/C and C57black/6) acutely infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. SAP levels increased in C57black/6 and Balb/C mice but not C3H mice. AM levels increased in all C3H mice but not in C57black/6 mice and rose slightly in only 43% of the Balb/C mice. AM and SAP levels are differently modulated in patterns that may be strain-determined.

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An industrialized vaccine against American cutaneous leishmaniasis was compared to a laboratory made vaccine in its ability to induce cellular and humoral immune responses in mice. No differences were observed between seric IgG levels or lymphoblastic proliferation response of mice immunized with either vaccine. Antigenic composition, evaluated by SDS-PAGE, was identical in both preparations. Protection induced in mice against a challenge with infective parasites was also compared. The level of protection obtained with the industrialized vaccine was comparable to that induced by the laboratory made preparation. The results showed that the industrialization process did not alter the efficacy of the vaccine.

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Tentou-se obter imunoproteçäo contra infecçäo cercariana pela inoculaçäo de vermes vivos na cavidade peritoneal de camundongos. Embora os vermes sobrevivessem bem nestas condiçöes e näo ocorresse postura de ovos, näo foi possível obter imunoproteçäo. Também a inoculaçäo de ovos viáveis por via sanguínea e peritoneal näo propiciou o aparecimento de imunoproteçäo nos camundongos com vermes na cavidade peritoneal

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The effect of local sympathetic denervation on immune responses of submaxillary lymph nodes (SmLN) of mice was examined in animals subjected to unilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy (SCGx). Norepinephrine (NE) content in ipsilateral SmLN decreased by 90% 7-20 days after SCGx, while bilateral SCGx resulted in a 91% decrease of SmLN NE content. SmLN of mice subjected to unilateral SCGx exhibited greater plaque-forming cell (PFC) response than the innervated contralateral SmLN, when challenged i.d. or i.p. with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) 10-20 days after surgery. In mice challenged with SRBC at an early phase of sympathetic nerve paralysis (i.e., 2 h after SCGx), PFC response was already increased in the ipsilateral SmLN whereas during the anterograde degeneration of nerve endings (6-24 h after SCGx) an impending depression of PFC number was observed. Contact hypersensitivity and allogeneic delayed-type reactions were also enhanced in the ear ipsilateral to SCGx. Primed SmLN cells of nodes located ipsilaterally to SCGx, when injected to (BALB/c x C57BL/6) F1, resulted in significantly higher spleen index than similarly treated, contralateral SmLN. In contrast, mitogenic stimulation under various experimental protocols failed to reveal significant differences between proliferation of cell populations obtained from ipsilateral and contralateral SmLN of unilaterally SCGx mice. SmLN of mice parasympathetically decentralized by unilateral sections of the chorda tympani-lingual nerve trunk showed lower PFC response than the innervated contralateral SmLN, when challenged with SRBC 8-28 days after surgery. These results suggest a regulatory function of the autonomic nervous system in immune reaction.

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Normal mice of several strains reject the nematode worm Nippostronglyus brasiliensis from the intestine within 14 days (and most often within 10 days) of injection of high numbers of infective third stage larvae (L3). Previously-infected mice are markedly resistant to a second infection. Hypothymic, nu/nu ('nude') mice continue to harbor worms long after intact mice have rejected the worm burden and an inoculum of T cells at the time of, or several days after L3 injection, leads to worm elimination within 14 days in nu/nu mice. As yet no evidence is available to indicate whether or not T cells with specificity for parasite antigens are required in a reconstitutive inoculum in nu/nu mice. Pretreatment of normal mice with cyclophosphamide, at doses reported to lead to temporary B cell hypofunction, does not result in delayed rejection of worms but the participation of B cell products (antibodies) cannot be discounted on the basis of this result. The nu/nu mouse - N. brasiliensis system will be useful in the search for, and characterization of, parasite antigens which gain access to the lymphoid organs and circulation of parasitized mice and in the analysis of T cell subtypes (both functional and surface Thy and Ly alloantigenic subtypes) involved in worm elimination.

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