Lack of humoral and cellular responses against glutathione S-transferases in Fasciola hepatica experimentally infected sheep

Anti-Fasciola hepatica excretory-secretory products (FhESP) and anti-glutathione S-transferase (GST) immune response were studied in sheep infected with 250 F. hepatica metacercariae. In FhESP, 29 proteins with molecular masses (rn) of 10-200 kDa were identified by SDS-PAGE. GST m were 26.7 and 27.2 kDa. The anti-FhESP humoral response was precocious and increased through out the infection. FhESP contains several immunoreactive antigens but no anti-GST antibodies were detected either by ELISA or western blotting. The anti FhESP cellular response increased precociously and fell after the second week of infection but no cellular response against GST was observed. (C) Inra/Elsevier, Paris.