Table 1.
Processing of mice in each group.
| Treatment group | Number of mice | Immunization | Parasite challenge | Anti-CTLA-4 mAb | Number of experiment repeats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uninfected | 8 | PBS as control | No infection | PBS as control | 3 |
| Infected-control | 8 | PBS as control | Operation 2 | PBS as control | 3 |
| Anti-CTLA-4 mAb | 8 | PBS as control | Operation 2 | Operation 3 | 3 |
| FABP | 8 | Operation 1 | Operation 2 | PBS as control | 3 |
| Combination | 8 | Operation 1 | Operation 2 | Operation 3 | 3 |
CTLA-4, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4; FABP, fatty acid-binding protein; mAb, monoclonal antibody; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; Operation 1, immunization with 100 μg of SjFABP, followed by identical “booster” immunizations that were administered twice within a 2-week interval; Operation 2, 2 weeks after the last immunization, mice were percutaneously infected with 40 ± 1 S. japonicum cercariae; Operation 3, mice were intraperitoneally injected with 300 μg of anti-CTLA-4 mAb at 2 weeks after the initiation of the experiment.