Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection in rats. The cellular requirement for worm expulsion.

The expulsion of antibody-damaged Nippostrongylus brasiliensis nematodes from the intestine of rats irradiated with 750 rad 60Co was induced by thoracic duct lymph (TDL) or mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells apparently without the help of bone marrow-derived cells. The effector cells were present in the TDL or MLN of rats by the 8th day after infection and could be recovered from the peritoneal cavity. The ability of TDL cells to transfer immunity to irradiated recipients was undiminished when the cells with immunoglobulin on their surface were removed. These results suggest that, following antibody damage, this nematode is expelled by nonimmunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes which are effective in the absence of newly formed cells derived from the cell recipients.