Ascaris Cuticle Collagen and Mammalian Collagens: Cell Mediated and Humoral Immunity Relationships

[摘要] Complete cell-mediated and humoral cross-reactivity was demonstrated between native Ascaris cuticle collagen and its reduced and carboxymethylated (RCM) form. The data indicate the preservation of intact immunologic determinants after reduction and alkylation of the parent molecule.Cell-mediated immunity could be demonstrated with both forms of Ascaris collagen and human collagen whereas no such cross-reaction existed between the former collagens and mouse collagen. No humoral cross-reactivity between Ascaris collagen and a variety of mammalian collagens was detectable.The data demonstrate the usefulness of cell-mediated immunity in determining the relatedness of phylogenetically remote proteins. The possibilities that Ascaris and mammalian collagens may be products of either divergence from a common primordial protein or convergence from different primordial proteins are discussed.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）