The chemiluminescent response of macrophages in mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni.

Peritoneal phagocytic cells when stimulated by Schistosoma mansoni infection in this study, exhibited a sudden increase in oxygen consumption known as a respiratory burst. This resulted in the production of toxic oxygen metabolites (H2O2 and others). The level of this toxic oxygen metabolites (chemiluminescence/cells) in normal mice and in mice infected with S. mansoni was measured in vitro. One week, one and two months after infection, a highly significant increase in the levels of chemiluminescence/cell was observed when compared to that of the normal control group. These oxygen metabolites have long been known to have microbicidal activity, and may take part in the ecytotoxic role in cell-mediated immune response against all stages of schistosoma life cycle in this study.