Are there known antibodies produced when humans are infected with STH (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworm) and do the produced antibodies differ per helminth? Thanks in advance!
HiYes, there is a strong humoral (antibody) and cellular immune response to STHs in humans. There are commercially available IgG and IgE kits for Ascaris and Hookworm, but I don't know of any for Trichuris, at least commercially. I'm not sure if you're looking for more than that based on your question. I'm happy to provide follow-up and papers if you'd like.
Hi Neima Briggs! Thank you so much for your response. Could you direct me to a paper on the antibodies produced for Trichuris?
With reference to non-parasitological (i.e. indirect) diagnosis, note that there can be some cross-reaction amongst nematodes, e.g. between Ascaris and Toxocara.
Here is a reference paper for identifying antibodies for Trichuris: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12694600
Most use either Trichuris lysate or Trichuris excretory/secretory (ES) product (typically obtained from Trichuris muris which can be produced in lab in a murine maintenance model). Both have issues with cross-reactivity, as Professor Markus pointed out above, since co-infection is so common with STHs over the course of the lifetime of people in endemic regions and their is some degree of conservation of STH antigens. ES is certainly less cross reactive, as it is more unique and with less variety than lysate. Ultimately, a unique Trichuris product (likely recombinant protein) will be required to accurately report serological positivity to Trichuris specifically, which is only available in individual labs, as far as I'm concerned.
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