The humoral immune response of the spiny-tailed agamid lizard (Agama caudospinosum) to injection with Leishmania agamae promastigotes

Spiny-tailed agamid lizards (Agama caudospinosum) were given a single intraperitoneal injection of Leishmania agamae promastigotes. Direct agglutinins (DA), indirect haemagglutinins (IHA) and complement-fixing antibodies (CFA) produced against the parasites were non-precipitating, relatively thermostable and dithiothreitol sensitive. Antibodies were also detected by the immobilisation test (IMM) and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The most sensitive method was the ELISA one. Antibodies were detected 7 days post-injection and maximum IMM (2(-6)), DA (2(-8)), CFA (2(-10)), IHA (2(-12)) and ELISA (2(-16)) titres were obtained from 35 to 49 days. In all cases, the levels of antibody following antigenic stimulation were significantly different from the controls (P less than 0.001). Serum lysozyme levels increased three-fold (P less than 0.001) with the highest value of 46 micrograms/ml occurring after 42 days.