Monoclonal antibodies detect antigenic diversity in Theileria parva parasites

The study demonstrates that there are antigenic differences in the macroschizont stage of various strains of T. parva. When an antibody gave positive staining with a particular T. parva-infected lymphoblastoid line, most macroschizonts in that line were stained. Furthermore, the monoclonal antibodies bound to practically all macroschizonts examined from the peripheral blood cells of a bovid infected with T. parva. These observations suggest that it is unlikely that the antibodies recognize antigens that are expressed at a particular developmental stage of the macroschizont. By using monoclonal antibodies as markers it may be possible to demonstrate genetic recombination in T. parva.