ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: Earlier we demonstrated that immunization with F6, a proinflammatory molecular fraction isolated from the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi, protected the host and eliminated the infection in Mastomys coucha by a Th1/Th2 response including IgG2a antibody response. Whether F6 molecules become accessible to human host during natural course of infection and elicit similar response is not known. The present study was undertaken to determine the profile of IgG subclasses specifically reactive to F6 in different categories of bancroftian filariasis cases to infer any relationship between the levels of a particular F6-specific IgG subclass and the infection or disease status. Methods: Serum samples of normal individuals from filariasis non-endemic regions of India like Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Chandigarh [(NEN-W; n=10), healthy subjects from USA (NEN-U; n=10) and three categories of bancroftian filariasis cases from endemic areas: endemic normals (EN; n=10) with no symptoms and no microfilariae, asymptomatic microfilaremics (ASM; n=10) and chronic symptomatic amicrofilaremics (CL; n=10) were assayed for F6-specific IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 by ELISA using SDS-PAGE-isolated F6 fraction of B. malayi adult worms. Results: Significantly high levels of F6-specific IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 were found in CL (P<0.001) and EN (P<0.01-0.001) bancroftian filariasis cases compared to NEN-U. Significant levels of F6-specific IgG1 (P<0.01) and IgG2 (P<0.01) but not IgG3 were found in ASM cases compared to NEN-U. The most abundant was IgG2 which when compared to NEN-U, was significantly high in CL (P<0.001) and EN cases (P<0.001), followed by ASM (P<0.01). F6-specific IgG4 response in EN, ASM and CL subjects was not significantly different from the levels of NEN-U. Among the non-endemic normals, the NEN-W subjects showed significant reactivity with IgG2 (P<0.001) but not with IgG1, IgG3 and IgG4 as compared to NEN-U subjects. IgG subclass levels were different in different categories. Interpretation & conclusions: The high levels of F6 reactive IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 in endemic normals and chronic symptomatic bancroftian patients, and IgG1 and IgG2 in asymptomatic microfilaraemics, suggest that F6 molecules of parasite are accessible in these subjects for IgG subclass-specific immune response and IgG2 may be related to pathogenesis. Studies using individual F6 molecules will be done to identify the molecule(s) involved in infection and protective immunity.