Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T21:13:21.216Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of methotrexate on the parasitic development of the nematode Dictyocaulus viviparus (Metastrongylidae), and on the immune response of infected guinea-pigs*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

R. J. M. Wilson
Affiliation:
National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, N. W. 7

Extract

Methotrexate inhibited the growth of D. viviparus by acting either on the moult from the third- to the fourth-stage larva or on the growth of fourth-stage larva itself. Despite these effects of the drug, the early developmental stages of the worms primed the immune mechanism of the host; the inductive phase of antibody production was completed in less than 5 days. An effective immune response, however, was blocked by the continued presence of methotrexate which resulted in delayed elimination of a superinfection and the absence of anaphylactic antibody in the serum. Immune elimination appeared to require a quantitative threshold of worm antigen and host antibody.

This work was made possible by the generous supply of infective helminth material from Messrs Allen and Hanbury Ltd, Ware, Herts. I should also like to thank Dr J. H. Humphrey and Dr S. R. Smithers of N.I.M.R. for their helpful discussions.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Dittebrandt, M. (1948). The application of the Weichselbaurm biuret reagent to the determination of spinal fluid protein. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 18, 439441.Google Scholar
Dougherty, E. C. & Hansen, E. L. (1957). The folic acid requirement and its antagonism by aminopterin in the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae (Rhabditidae). Anatomical Record 128, 541–2.Google Scholar
Douvres, F. W. & Lucker, J. T. (1958). The morphogenesis of the parasitic stages of the cattle lungworrn, Dictyocaulus viviparus, in experimentally infected guinea-pigs. Journal of Parasitology 44, Sect. 2, 28–9.Google Scholar
Friedman, R. M., Buckler, C. E. & Baron, S. (1961). The effect of aminomethylpteroyl-glutamic acid on the development of skin hypersensitivity and on antibody formation in guinea-pigs. Journal of Experimental Medicine 114, 173–83.Google Scholar
Jackson, G. J. & Siddiqui, W. A. (1965). Folic acid in axenic cultures of Neoaplectana. Journal of Parasitology 51, 727–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Brien, J. S. (1962). The role of the folate coenzymes in cellular division. A review. Cancer Research 22, 267–81.Google ScholarPubMed
Ovary, Z. (1964). Passive cutaneous anaphylaxis. C.I.O.M.S. Symp. Immunological Methods, Ed. Ackroyd, J. F., p. 259. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Poynter, D., Jones, B. V., Nelson, A. M. R., Peacock, R., Robinson, J., Silverman, P. H. & Terry, R. J. (1960). Recent experiences with vaccination. Veterinary Record 72, 1078–90.Google Scholar
Sayre, F. W., Hansen, E. L. & Yarwood, E. A. (1963). Biochemical aspects of the nutrition of Caenorhabditis briggsae. Experimental Parasitology 13, 98107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soulsby, E. J. L. (1961). Some aspects of the mechanism of immunity to helminths. Journal of the American Veterinary Association 138, 355–62.Google Scholar
Soulsby, E. J. L. & Stewart, D. F. (1960). Serological studies of the self-cure reaction in sheep infected with Haemonchus contortus. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 11, 595603.Google Scholar
Tripathy, S. P. & Mackaness, G. B. (1969). Effects of cytotoxic agents on the primary immune response to Listeria monocytogenes. Journal of Experimental Medicine 130, 116.Google Scholar
Turk, J. L. (1967). Cytology of the induction of hypersensitivity. British Medical Bulletin 23, 38.Google Scholar
Turk, J. L. & Stone, S. H. (1963). Implications of the cellular changes in lymph nodes during the development and inhibition of delayed type hypersensitivity. Cell bound Antibodies. Eds. Amos, B. and Koprowski, H., p. 51. Philadelphia: Wistar Institute Press.Google Scholar
Wade, A. E., Fox, L. E. & Swanson, L. E. (1960). Studies on infection and immunity with the cattle lungworm, Dictyocaulus viviparous (Bloch). I. Infection in laboratory animals. American Journal of Veterinary Research 21, 753–7.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. J. M. (1964). Effects of methotrexate on Dictyocaulus viviparous in guinea-pigs. Parasitology, 54, 3P.Google Scholar
Wilson, R. J. M. (1966). γI-antibodies in guinea-pigs infected with the cattle lungworm. Immunology 11, 199209.Google Scholar