Attempt to culture Wuchereria bancrofti in vitro.
Third-stage larvae of Wuchereria bancrofti recovered from laboratory raised Aedes togoi and Anopheles maculatus fed on a human volunteer were recovered by mass dissection methods and introduced into in vitro culture. LLC-MK2 cells were used as feeder cells, and the culture medium consisted of RPMI-1640 buffered with Hepes and sodium bicarbonate and supplemented with human AB serum. The third-stage larvae molted as early as 12 days and those surviving had all molted by 16 days. The fourth-stage parasites averaged in length from 1.4 mm to a maximum of 1.8 mm. Some larvae remained alive in culture as long as 40 days and while the worms were distorted in fixation, possible primodial cells of a spicule could be visualized in the rectal region. The cuticle also appeared to be separating in the posterior end. Although complete development was not achieved, it seems that with a continuing effort, success could be obtained using this culture system with feeder cells.
D000330:Aedes / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000469:parasitology; D003470:Culture Media; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D014957:Wuchereria / Q000254:growth & development*; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D003470:Culture Media