Differential effect of appendectomy and tonsillectomy on anti-Kudoa sp. antibodies in patients with MALTectomy.

We found an association between tonsillectomized patients and subsequent appendicitis. We also observed that MALTectomy significantly decreased secretory IgA levels in serum of patients, being this decrease more pronounced when both operations (tonsillectomy and appendectomy) had been performed. The elevated humoral responses detected previously by us in BALB/c mice immunized with Kudoa sp. pseudocyst extracts and the high IgG1 and IgE levels induced by the oral administration of Kudoa sp. pseudocysts to BALB/c mice showed the possible immunopathological effects in man from the ingestion of Kudoa sp. infected fish. We use the ELISA method to investigate the possible relationship between MALTectomy (tonsillectomy and appendectomy) and specific antibody levels to Kudoa sp. Both anti-Kudoa sp. specific antibody levels and the number of patients that recognized Kudoa sp. antigens were greater in tonsillectomy patients when compared to the control and the other studied groups (appendectomized and appendectomized+tonsillectomies patients). Tonsillectomy was associated to a switch in the class of immunoglobulins involved in these responses and these responses may be abrogated by appendectomy. Tonsils and appendix may respond in different ways to Kudoa sp. antigens and these different reactions may be involved in some immunopathological reactions.

Anisakis simplex and Kudoa sp.: evaluation of specific antibodies in appendectomized patients.

High prevalence and intensity of infection with anisakid larvae has been reported in commercially important fish in Spain. Likewise, Kudoa-infected fish have lately been detected in both fresh and frozen fish. In the present study the possible relation between appendectomy and specific antibodies to these fish parasites was investigated. One hundred and sixty patients were enrolled in this study. They were divided into two groups of eighty patients each and matched for sex and age: Group 1 (appendectomized) and Group 2 (control group). Total immunoglobulins (Ig's), IgG, IgM, IgA and IgE against Anisakis simplex or Kudoa sp. antigens were analysed by ELISA. The mean values of the specific antibodies were lower in the appendectomy group, although significant differences were not observed in the case of IgG, IgA and IgE anti-A. simplex and IgE anti-Kudoa sp. In summary, appendectomy significantly decreased serum specific immunoglobulin levels against these food borne parasite antigens. This decrease was detectable from three months to three years post-appendectomy. It is necessary to study the influence of the surgical removal of other important parts of the GALT on these anti-parasite humoral immune responses.