Profiles of IgM, IgG and IgE immune responses of mice against p14, p31 and p71 proteins following immunization with crude cystic fluid of Cysticercus bovis

Background: The presence of IgM, IgG and IgE antibodies has been widely used as important markers for the differentiation of acute and chronic infection in many infectious diseases, but limited studies reported on Cysticercus bovis infection are available. This study aimed to determine the IgM, IgG and IgE responses of mice against crude cystic fluid, p14, p31 and p71 antigens as the possible diagnosis of acute and chronic cysticercosis in hosts. Methods: Six mice were immunized four times at 10 days interval with Cysticercus bovis. Individual p14, p31 and p71 proteins were separated by using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and elution of proteins from gel with elution buffer. The crude cystic fluid, p14, p31 and p71 were used as antigens for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the IgM, IgG and IgE antibody titers in mice sera before and after the first, the second, the third and the fourth immunizations. Results: No IgM, IgG and IgE against crude cystic fluid, p14, p31, and p71 was detected in sera samples collected before the first immunization. Moderate to high titers of IgM antibodies against crude cystic fluid, p14, p31 and p71 were identified following the first, the second, the third and the fourth immunizations. IgG titers against crude cystic fluid, p14, p31 and p71 was still at a low level following the first immunization and started to increase following the second, the third and the fourth immunization. Generally, low titers of IgE antibodies against crude cystic fluid, p14, p31 and p71 were detected after each immunization. IgE responses only increased slightly against crude cystic fluid and p71 antigens after the third and the fourth immunizations. The IgM, IgG and IgE responses of mice against crude cystic fluid and p71 antigens were higher than those against p31 and p14 antigens. Conclusions: The presence of IgM without IgG and IgE can indicate acute infection, whereas the presence of IgM and IgG with slight increase IgE might indicate a chronic infection of Cysticercus bovis