Specific cross-immunity between Trichinella spiralis and Trichuris muris: immunization with heterologous infections and antigens and transfer of immunity with heterologous immune mesenteric lymph node cells.

Infections with either 300 infective Trichinella spiralis larvae or 400 embryonated eggs of Trichuris muris were infective in eliciting accelerated expulsion of heterologous challenge infections given 20 days after the primary infection. Accelerated expulsion could also be achieved by the administration of soluble crude worm antigen given 12 days prior to heterologous challenge or by adoptive transfer of mesenteric lymph node cells taken from mice infected with the heterologous parasite. Each species is capable of eliciting an accelerated secondary expulsion response in hosts that have been actively or adoptively immunized against the other species and these results are taken to indicate that there is a specific cross-immunity between T. spiralis and T. muris due to shared antigens. It is postulated that these shared antigens are derived from stichocyte granules.