[McAb-ELISA for detection of circulating antigen from schistosoma. I. Preparation, selection of monoclonal antibody and preliminary testing].

Fusions between spleen cells from BALB/c mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum or mansoni cercariae and SP2/0 myeloma were carried out. More than 30 hybridoma cell lines secreting monoclonal antibodies were obtained. Their target antigens were integument, gut and egg respectively. The preliminary tests showed that the antibody against gut-associated polysaccharide antigen had the highest activity of all antibodies obtained. This antibody can be used in the sandwich ELISA to detect trichloroacetic acid soluble antigen at a level of less than 1 ng/ml, A positive reaction was found in a group of infected rabbits, negative in normal and the circulating antigen level correlated with the number of infecting cercariae. Three months after treatment antigen titers of 6/8 rabbits became negative. This report shows that the McAb sandwich ELISA for the detection of circulating antigen is better than other antibody detecting methods. It is also a potential immunodiagnostic method.