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... em would be needed. This would call for a wide range of assays to show Ig affinity to antigen, the ability of the c omelet to elicit a response, etc. The first assay conducted would involve isolated Ig from fetal serum, regardless of isotype, but the Ig must be specific for toxoplasmosis.
This should be easy to come by in an infection situation, since antibodies to toxoplasmosis are produced in an infection situation to that specific antigen. These isolated Ig molecules would then be subjected to equilibrium dialysis. This assay would involve Ig specific for toxoplasmosis and toxoplasmosis antigen labeled with chromium 51. The results of this assay would prove if the Ig specific for toxoplasmosis does in fact have a high enough affinity for antigen, which in an indirect sense, could tell how well the Ig-Ag interaction would be at eliminating the antigen by the complement system. In other words, the higher the affinity, the better the chance of getting the antigen coated and ready for destruction by the complement system. This leads to the next test, which would determine the ability of the Ag-Ig complex to activate the complement system.
This assay would call for the fetus to be infected with labeled toxoplasmosis directly, and samples of blood to be drawn from the fetus after sufficient time has been allowed for any Ig-Ag reactions to occur. The samples would then be mixed with complement, and then the mixture would be checked for any lysed toxoplasmosis antigen by the increased presence of label present in solution. Any signs of released label would indicate that the Ig is able to produce an ideal humoral Another test to perform to observe immune reaction would be to observe the antibody's ability of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). This involves labeled antibody, along with eosinophils, NK (natural killer) cells, and neutrophils, all from fetal serum and labeled A cell culture infected with toxoplasmosis would be mixed with antibody, and then incubated at 37 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours to ensure good binding of antibody to the target cell.
After this period of time, the labeled phagocytic cells would be added. If label is found in solution, it is safe to say that the antibodies, when in contact with antigen, can elicit a cell-mediated response. The last assay will measure the ability of antigen to ensure a cellular response by making memory B cells. This would involve the direct hemolytic plaque assay, in which a SRBC (sheep red blood cell) would be conjugated with toxoplasmosis antigen. After conjugation, the antigen bearing Specs would be injected into a fetal mouse and allowed time to infect; about 4 days time should be sufficient. After 4 days, the spleen of the fetus would be removed, and put in culture in agar medium, and complement would be added.
The mature would be incubated at 37 degrees Celsius for 1 hour, after which the dish would be checked for plaques indicating plasma cell activity. It should be noted that the cells forming the plaque will be of Ig M isotype. To further observe if a secondary response could be established, the indirect hemolytic assay could be implemented. Positive results from the indirect method would indicate Ig G isotype, indicating a secondary response and cell memory. Positive results from both assays indicate a cellular response to antigen. The data from the previous assays could give insight on how the human fetus could react to toxoplasmosis infection.
By finding out if the fetus produces antibodies to toxoplasmosis, we know that the fetus is capable of at least eliciting a humoral response of some nature, no matter how small. The assays to measure affinity to antigen also amplify the possibility of antibody molecules to create a response, mainly by the complement system. By finding out if the fetus can produce plasma cells tells us if it can actually give off a secondary response, or if memory is achieved, if a second encounter with toxoplasmosis happens. By finding out if the maternal antibody is caught up in the placenta also yields information on the possibility of antibody selection, which may occur in it. The benefits of finding out if the fetus can respond to toxoplasmosis will enable us to find ways to assist the unborn in its fight for life upon infection. By seeing that it can produce antibodies tells us that a drug may be formed to assist in binding of antigen to antibody, or by creating a drug that could possibly assist in binding of antigen to complement.
The formation of plasma cells tells us that the fetus can form memory to such an antigenic challenge, which is of importance if future encounter occurs. The total benefit of these assays is to gain an overall knowledge of how the fetus really does or how it could respond to antigen challenge, mainly of such a devastating disease such as toxoplasmosis. If we gain insight on how the fetus responds, it will open the door to the next chapter of research to find controls to stop fetal infections such as toxoplasmosis from being fatal as 1) Creamy, Robert K. , Resnik, Robert. Maternal-Fetal Medicine. W. B.
Saunders Co. , Philadelphia. 2) Rush, Robert. The Mouse. Burgess Publishing Co. , Minneapolis. 1968. 1) Creamy, Robert K. , Resnik, Robert. Maternal-Fetal Medicine. W. B.
Saunders Co. , Philadelphia. 2) Cooper, Max et. al. B Lymphocytes In The Immune Response. Elsevier/North-Holland, New 3) Falkner, Frank, Tanner, JM. Human Growth: A Comprehensive Treatise, Vol. 1.
Plenum Press, 4) Golub, Edward S. The Cellular Basis of the Immune Response. Singer Assoc. , Mass. 1977. 5) Innes, EA. Toxoplasmosis: comparative species susceptibility and host response. Comparative Immunology of Microbiological Infectious Diseases. February 1997. (read via Pub Med) 6) Kovarik, Jiri, Sie grist, Claire-Anne.
Immunity in early life. Immunology Today. Vol. 18, no 4. 7) Mandell, Michael et. al. Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases. Churchill Livingstone, 8) Nahamias AJ, Kourtis AP.
The great balancing acts. The pregnant woman, placenta, fetus, and infectious agents. Clinical Perinatology. June 1997. (read via Pub Med) 9) Rush, Rober. The Mouse. Burgess Publishing, Minneapolis. 1968.
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