Comparative analysis of surface components of adult, micro-filariae and infective larvae of Brugia malayi.

A comparative analysis of surface proteins of adult, microfilariae and infective larvae of Brugia malayi, the human filarial parasite, has been carried out using IODOGEN (1,3,4,6-tetrachloro-3,alpha 6 alpha-diphenyl-glycoluril) and lactoperoxidase methods. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic and autoradiographic analyses revealed the presence of 9 proteins (15-200 kDa) in adults, while microfilariae and infective larvae showed 8 and 6 proteins (15-120 kDa), respectively. The pattern of proteins radiolabelled by IODOGEN method was very similar to that of proteins labelled by the lactoperoxidase method. Since these proteins are released by the protease treatment of whole parasites, they are likely to be present on the surface of the parasite.

Repeated infections of Brugia pahangi in the jird, Meriones unguiculatus.

Male jirds, Meriones unguiculatus, were subcutaneously inoculated in the groin with 1 to 5 doses of infective-stage larvae of Brugia pahangi at weekly or monthly intervals. When a dose of either 25 or 75 larvae or 4 weekly doses of 25 larvae were given, 15-16% of the larvae were recovered as adults approximately 4 to 7 months post inoculation. Only 8-10% of the larvae were recovered if 4 weekly or 5 monthly doses of 75 larvae each were given. After an inoculation of 75 larvae, 25% of the worms were recovered at 30 days. The 30 day-old population consisted of an average of 10 female and 8.8 male worms. Jirds previously inoculated with 4 weekly or 5 monthly doses were challenged with an additional 75 larvae 30 days prior to necropsy. An average of only 4.5 thirty day-old female worms were recovered in these cases, presenting a 55% decrease as compared to the single inoculation situation. There was some decrease in the mean length of female worms in multiply-inoculated jirds, but no difference in the mean lengths of the male worm population from singly or multiply-inoculated jirds was observed. No differences in prepatent periods or in patterns of microfilaraemia were observed in singly or multiply-inoculated jirds.