title: The effects of diethylcarbamazine on the ultrastructure of microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti.
abstract: An ultrastructural study of microfilariae of Wuchereria bancrofti was performed after in vitro treatment with diethylcarbamazine. One of the first morphological alterations produced by treatment with 5, 10 or 50 microg/ml of DEC was the loss of microfilarial sheaths. Drastic effects of DEC were only detected when microfilariae were exsheathed. Microfilariae treated with 5, 10 or 50 microg/ml DEC showed severely affected organelles, formation of several vacuoles mainly in the hypodermis, and cytolysis. Some microfilariae showed extreme cellular disorganization with abundance of electron-dense degenerating organelles, numerous large vacuoles, and nuclear condensation. Lamellar bodies probably related to an assembly of endoplasmic reticulum membranes were observed in some damaged microfilariae. Thus, in vitro treatment with concentrations of DEC similar to therapeutic conditions had direct effect by causing a loss of the microfilarial sheath of W. bancrofti with subsequent damage of organelles and apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia e Biologia Celular, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães (FIOCRUZ), and Laboratório de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Florêncio
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Peixoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005368:Filariasis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000469:parasitology; D005369:Filaricides / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008842:Microfilariae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D015388:Organelles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D005369:Filaricides; D004049:Diethylcarbamazine