title: Functional and antigenic maturation of Brugia malayi microfilariae.
abstract: Brugia malayi microfilariae of specified ages were obtained from gerbils implanted with fertile adult worms. Such microfilariae were tested for their capacity to infect mosquitoes. A strong age dependence was found for the microfilariae's capacity to: penetrate the mosquito midgut, exsheath in response to 20 mM calcium, and develop to third stage larvae in the mosquito. In addition, differences were found between 2-day-old microfilariae and controls (from larva-infected gerbils) in their reactivities with a series of monoclonal antibodies. Thus, defined immunochemical changes occur in microfilariae as they assume functional maturity.
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000276:immunology; D002009:Brugia / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology; D004605:Elephantiasis, Filarial / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D005849:Gerbillinae; D008842:Microfilariae / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D000939:Epitopes