RESUMEN
Individuals residing in an area endemic to Wuchereria bancrofti infection were broadly categorised as endemic normals (EN), microfilaraemics (mf + ve) and elephantoids i.e., chronic lymphatic filariasis (EL). The immune status of these three groups was examined in terms of (i) specific antibody levels; (ii) ability to induce antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) to microfilariae; and (iii) ability to recognise different microfilarial antigens by immunoblotting. All three groups of endemic residents were indistinguishable in their antibody levels as measured by ELISA with B. malayi microfilarial antigen. Many endemic normal sera and most elephantoid sera exerted strong cytotoxicity against W. bancrofti microfilariae whereas none of the mf + ve sera had any such activity. Immunoblotting studies revealed that a protein with mol. wt of 79 KDa was the only one among the proteins of B. malayi microfilarial extracts that was consistently recognised by sera from all endemic residents. Endemic normal sera and elephantoid sera, which exerted maximum cytotoxicity, together specifically recognised three proteins with molecular weights 25, 58 and 68 KDa and these three proteins could be among the candidate antigens that induce resistance to filarial infection.