Observations on the occurence and specificity of anti-bodies produced by infected hosts against the acetyl-cholinesterase present in some common gastrointestinal nematode parasites

Abstract Sera from hosts infected with a variety of nematodes were examined for the presence of antibodies against nematode acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Antibodies were detected in the serum from hosts infected with Oesophagostomum spp., Ostertagia spp. and Trichostrongylus spp., but not in serum from hosts infected with Cooperia pectinata or Haemonchus spp., Toxocara spp. or Trichuris vulpis . In those infections in which anti-AChE antibodies were found, some individual animals failed to produce detectable antibodies. The enzyme appeared to possess antigenic specificity at the genus but not the species level.