Ribosomal antibody response in rabbits and mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Both experimental chagasic infection and immunization with Trypanosoma cruzi cytoplasmic ribosome in rabbits and mice elicited antibodies cross-reacting with cytoplasmic ribosomal antigens of both parasite and normal mouse myocardium. The close resemblance of the response achieved in mice and rabbits, either after immunization with T. cruzi ribosomes or infection with the virulent parasite, suggests that autoantibodies to cytoplasmic ribonucleoproteins of different origins represent a noteworthy feature of the immune response in experimental Chagas' disease.