Genetic complementation of defects in vaccine-induced immunity against Schistosoma mansoni in P- and A-strain inbred mice.

Inbred P- and A-strain mice are deficient in their capacity to develop resistance to challenge infection in response to vaccination with irradiated cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni and are also defective in their cell-mediated response as assessed by the activity of antigen-elicited macrophages in killing schistosome larvae in vitro. In contrast, vaccinated (P x A)F1 mice displayed high levels of both immunity to challenge and macrophage larvicidal activity, indicating that the P- and A-strain defects in the vaccine-induced response are controlled by distinct genetic loci.