- What causes lymphocyte hyporesponsiveness during filarial nematode infection?
Trends in Parasitology, Volume 22, Issue 3, 1 March 2006, Pages 105-110
William Harnett and Margaret M. Harnett
AbstractFilarial nematodes persist in the parasitized host by modulating immune responsiveness. A feature of this that has been observed in a multitude of studies dating back several decades is an inability of lymphocytes to respond appropriately to filarial nematode antigens and, in some cases, to other stimuli. The consistency of this observation, allied to the ease of measurement of lymphocyte hyporesponsiveness, has resulted in many attempts to understand its cause.
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- Immune Dynamics in the Pathogenesis of Human Lymphatic Filariasis
Trends in Parasitology, Volume 14, Issue 6, 1 December 1998, Pages 229-234
AbstractDespite the longstanding recognition of the spectral nature of human disease due to lymphatic filariasis, immunologists interested in pathogenesis have mostly examined patients classified as being at either one extreme pole or the other. While the clinically asymptomatic individuals with microfilaremia who sit at one pole always have active infection, it has been difficult to define who else on the clinical spectrum is actively infected with living adult worms. In this review, David Freedman discusses how the ability to measure circulating filarial antigen in patient serum has advanced our ability to understand the immunopathogenesis of lymphatic filariasis by improving the precision of patient classification. Recent work suggests that the presence (or absence) of antigenemia, rather than overt clinical manifestations of disease, is closely associated with specific cytokine responses. A framework for patient classification based on these findings is proposed.
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- Litomosoides sigmodontis in Mice: Reappraisal of an Old Model for Filarial Research
Trends in Parasitology, Volume 16, Issue 9, 1 September 2000, Pages 387-389
Wolfgang Hoffmann, Gilles Petit, Hartwig Schulz-Key, David Taylor, Odile Bain and Laetitia Le Goff
AbstractOnchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) are major causes of severe morbidity and considerable socio-economic problems throughout the tropics. Vector control and mass chemotherapy have helped to control these infections in some regions, but the temporary success of such measures argues strongly for the development of vaccines. Success in such a venture will require detailed knowledge of protective immune responses in conjunction with the identification of target antigens. By comparison with other important parasitic infections, such as schistosomiasis and leishmaniasis, work on the development of vaccines for onchocerciasis and LF has been constrained because of the difficulties of producing cyclical and patent filarial infection in laboratory mice. Wolfgang Hoffmann and colleagues here outline the opportunities presented by the rodent filaria Litomosoides sigmodontis for filarial research.