Figure 2. Effects of S. japonicum infection on anti-type-II collagen (anti-CII) antibody production.

S. japonicum infection alters the levels of auto-antibodies in CIA mice. Sera were taken from DBA/1 mice 12 weeks after CII immunization. The concentration of anti-CII IgG and its subtype antibodies were determined by ELISA. The levels of anti-CII IgG and its subtypes were elevated in CIA mice. Compared with uninfected CIA mice, prior schistosome infection significantly reduced the levels of IgG and IgG2a in the sera, while the level of IgG1 was elevated in the infected mice. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the post schistosome infected CIA mice. No difference was observed between unisexual and bisexual infected mice. Means ± SD data for each mouse are shown. Compared with CIA control group, *: P<0.05; **: P<0.01. Data are representative of three repeated experiments. Abbreviations: ELISA, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. See Figure 1 for other definitions.