Lack of humoral and cellular responses against glutathione S-transferases in Fasciola hepatica experimentally infected sheep.

Anti-Fasciola hepatica excretory-secretory products (FhESP) and anti-glutathione S-transferase (GST) immune response were studied in sheep infected with 250 F. hepatica metacercariae. In FhESP, 29 proteins with molecular masses (m) of 10-200 kDa were identified by SDS-PAGE. GST m were 26.7 and 27.2 kDa. The anti-FhESP humoral response was precocious and increased throughout the infection. FhESP contains several immunoreactive antigens but no anti-GST antibodies were detected either by ELISA or western blotting. The anti-FhESP cellular response increased precociously and fell after the second week of infection but no cellular response against GST was observed.