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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
R. J. M. Wilson
Affiliation:
National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, N. W. 7
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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
Information
Parasitology , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , August 1971 , pp. 145 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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