Splenic and granuloma T-lymphocyte responses to fractionated soluble egg antigens of Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice.

Soluble egg antigens (SEA) secreted by the eggs of Schistosoma mansoni worms induce a T-cell-mediated granulomatous response that is principally responsible for the pathology of the disease. In the present study sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-separated SEA proteins were divided into nine fractions (less than 21, 25 to 30, 32 to 38, 40 to 46, 50 to 56, 60 to 66, 70 to 90, 93 to 125, and greater than 200 kDa), electroeluted, and utilized in in vitro lymphoproliferation assays. T-cell-enriched spleen cells from acutely infected mice responded to all nine fractions, while those from chronically infected mice responded to only the 50- to 56- and the 60- to 66-kDa fractions. Depletion of the CD4+ T-cell subset among acute and chronic-infection spleen cells abrogated the response. Depletion of the CD8+ T-cell population resulted in increased proliferation in response to fractions by acute-infection T cells and facilitated responsiveness to hitherto-inactive SEA fractions in chronic-infection T cells. Acute-infection CD4+ granuloma T cells responded to the 40- to 46-, 50- to 56-, 70- to 90-, 93- to 125-, and greater than 200-kDa fractions, while the chronic-infection granuloma T cells responded only to the greater than 200-kDa fraction of SEA. Selective depletion of the CD4+ T-cell subset when acute-infection granuloma lymphocytes were tested abrogated proliferation, whereas subset depletions when chronic-infection granuloma cells were tested indicated that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells respond to the greater than 200-kDa fraction. The present study reveals differences between acute- and chronic-infection splenic and granuloma T cells in the pattern of T-cell blastogenic responses to fractionated SEA.