Immunity in Filarial Infections: Lessons from Animal Models and Human Studies.
Our understanding of immunity to filarial infection is enigmatic and continues to be passionately debated. The mechanisms whereby filarial nematodes are killed in vivo and how these parasites avoid these mechanisms are poorly understood. Although vaccination studies in permissive animals took off seven decades ago, the exact mechanisms driving protective immunity are extensively being investigated. Currently, little is known regarding the collective functions or counter-regulatory mechanisms of the antibody isotypes in filarial infection with respect to protective immunity. Establishing the functional role of antibody isotypes and cytokines in the various infection phenotypes can contribute immensely to current knowledge in filarial immunology. This paper reviews insight into protective immunity in filarial infection with focus on humoral and cellular responses from animal models and human studies.
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana.|Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), KNUST, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana.
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Kwarteng
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana.
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Ahuno
D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000276:immunology*; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005368:Filariasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005370:Filarioidea / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D016207:Cytokines