A Schistosoma mansoni 62-kDa band is identified as an irradiated vaccine T-cell antigen and characterized as calreticulin.

The Schistosoma mansoni soluble adult worm antigen (SAWA) bands of 62/60 kDa were found to contain immunodominant T-cell immunogen(s) in irradiated cercariae-immunized Swiss and C57BL/6 mice. In the present study, spleen T cells of BALB/c mice immunized twice with ultraviolet light-irradiated cercariae proliferated and produced interleukin 4 in response to the 62/60-kDa SAWA bands in T-cell western assays. To characterize the 62/60-kDa bands, an adult S. mansoni worm cDNA expression library constructed in lambdagt11 was immunoscreened with serum of mice immunized with the 62/60-kDa antigens, and the immunoreactive cDNA inserts were sequenced. Purified 62- and 60-kDa proteins were used for amino acid microsequencing and for immunization studies in Swiss, C57BL/6, and BALB/c mice and rabbits. Taken together, the data indicated that the 60-kDa molecules are poorly immunogenic in mice and rabbits, whereas the 62-kDa species identified as S. mansoni calreticulin, is a good T- and B-cell antigen and represents a potential vaccine candidate.