Project description:Brugia pahangi is a parasitic nematode that is closely related to B. malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti. B. malayi and W. bancrofti are responsible for lymphatic filariasis, affecting around 120 million people in 73 countries worldwide.This project aims to undertake high-throughput sequencing of Brugia pahangi transcriptome. The objective is to use transcriptomics to support gene finding and to recognize genes expressed in given life stages.
Project description:To observe the global changes in the lymphatic endothelial cells upon exposure to filarial antigens or parasites, LECs were stimulated for 24, 48, and 72hrs and the expression profiles were carried out. Human filarial parasites Brugia malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti habitat the lymphatics and cause lymphatic dilatation and lymphedema. In order to evaluate the effect of various stage specific effects on the lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) and understand how they modulate the lymphatic dysfunction, LECs were stimulated in antigens derived from the Brugia malayi. These are preliminary time course data towards understanding how the filarial antigens induce lymphangiogenesis.
Project description:To assess the function of peripheral blood derived monocytes in patently infected filaria patients (either Wuchereria bancrofti, Mansonella perstans, or both), we investigated the cytokine production and gene expression profile of these cells in filaria infected patients and compared them with those from uninfected normal blood bank donors. Monocytes from infected individuals were studded with intracellular microfilarial antigens. In addition, Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I bacteria (SAC)/IFN γ activated monocytes from the infected individuals produced less IL 8, Exodus II, MIP 1a, MIP 1b, eotaxin, RANTES, IL 1a, and MIP 3b compared with normal patients. Microarray analysis of ex vivo isolated monocytes demonstrated that multiple genes involved in signal transduction, apoptosis, and adhesion were expressed to a greater degree in filaria infected patient monocytes compared with those of uninfected normal individuals. Eight months following treatment with a single dose of ivermectin/albendazole, monocytes of W. bancrofti infected individuals were capable of producing more IL 8, IL 1a, MIP 1a, and IL 10 in response to SAC/IFN γ compared with their pretreatment levels. Further, when monocyte global expression was compared before and after treatment of the W. bancrofti, there was a marked increase in mRNA expression of genes associated with protein metabolism, and in HSP most particularly, compared with pretreatment expression. These data suggest that the function and gene expression of monocytes in filaria infected patients are altered; however, this dysfunction can be reveresed to a degree following treatment with a single dose of ivermection/albendazole.
Project description:The filarial nematodes Brugia malayi, Wuchereria bancrofti and Onchocerca volvulus cause elephantiasis, dermatitis and blindness, resulting in severe morbidity in developing countries. 1.3 billion people are at risk of infection. Targeting the essential Wolbachia endobacteria of filarial nematodes with doxycycline has proven to be an effective therapy, resulting in a block in embryogenesis and worm development, and macrofilaricidal effects. However, doxycycline is contraindicated for a large portion of the at-risk population. To identify new targets for anti-wolbachial therapy, understanding the molecular basis of the Wolbachia-filaria symbiosis is required. We performed cross-species hybridization by using the Brugia malayi microarray to identify differentially expressed genes in the rodent filaria Litomosoides sigmodontis after depletion of Wolbachia which therefore might have a role in symbiosis.