ABSTRACT
An internal control was used in a polymerase chain reaction PCR-ELISA-based technique to detect the DNA repeat of the filarial parasite W. bancrofti. The sensitivity of the test could detect as low as one single microfilaria added to 200 ul of blood. The assay was evaluated on field samples from persons living in areas endemic for filariasis. Examination of night blood of 113 individuals for the presence of microfilaria by filtration revealed 44 microfilaria carriers. All microfilaria carriers were positive in the PCR-ELISA and, in addition, 14 more samples were proven to contain parasite DNA. All the 58 proven cases had circulating filarial antigens in their serum samples. Assuming a sensitivity of PCR-ELISA on night blood of 100%, the sensitivity of night blood filtration was 74% and that of circulating filarial antigens is 100%. The data showed that the described PCR-ELISA method was capable of detecting the filarial infections. Consequently, this method facilitated the identification of the filarial endemic areas and the monitoring of control programs.
Subject(s)
DNA, Helminth/analysis , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods , Filariasis/diagnosis , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Wuchereria bancrofti/isolation & purification , Animals , Humans , Reproducibility of Results , Sensitivity and Specificity , Wuchereria bancrofti/immunologyABSTRACT
To determine the extent to which Balb/c mice splenic T cells were affected by S. mansoni infection, this study aims to investigate the ability of the T cells to produce interferon (IFN)-&, and their chemotactic ability at 7 weeks post-infection. The splenic T cells were capable of producing levels of IFN-& comparable with splenic T cells from naive mice. However, the T cells exhibited altered chemotactic activity, as evidenced by an inability to respond to secondary lymphoid-tissue chemokine (SLC/CCL21). Although no difference in chemokine expression was found between the spleens of infected versus control mice, chemokine production was greater in the livers of infected versus control mice. Collectively, these data indicate that Balb/c mice with 7-wk S. mansoni infection possess splenic T cells with altered chemotactic activity and that the alterations may be a consequence of granulomatous response in the liver.
