Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T17:12:32.328Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Macrophage-mediated damage to filarial worms (Dipetalonema setariosum) in vivo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2009

M. J. Worms
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK
Diane J. McLaren
Affiliation:
Division of Parasitology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK

Abstract

An adult female Dipetalonema setariosum (Mönnig 1926) recovered from the pleural cavity of Meriones libycus and bearing an adherent cell mass was examined by means of electron microscopy. The host reaction consisted exclusively of macrophages and was associated with disruption of the cuticular membrane and invasion of the cuticle itself. There was no evidence of prior activity by other cell types. Initiation of damage appeared to be associated with the release of lysosomal enzymes by the macrophages. Within the reaction a localized breaching of the cuticle had occurred and cells had penetrated the internal tissues of the worm. It is suggested that macrophages may play a role in the elimination of effete worms from an established population.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bertram, D. S. (1966) Dynamics of parasitic equilibrium in cotton rat filariasis. Advances In Parasitology. 4, 255319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackenzie, C. D., Jungery, M., Taylor, P. M. & Ogilvie, B. M. (1980) Immune response to nematodes: the in vitro interaction of eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages and mast cells with the nematode surface in the presence of complement or antibodies. Journal of Pathology, 133, 161175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, D. J. (1974) The anterior glands of adult Necator americanas (Nematoda: Strongyloidea). I. Ultrastructural studies. International Journal for Parasitology, 4, 2537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaren, D. J., Mackenzie, C. D. & Ramalho-Pinto, F. J. (1977) Ultrastructural observations in the in vitro interaction between rat eosinophils and some parasitic helminths (Schistosoma monsoni, Trichinella spiralis and Nippostrongylus brasiliensis). Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 30, 105118.Google Scholar
Worms, M. J. (1970 Studies on the life history and biology of the Onchocercidae (Lieper, 1911) (Nematoda: Filarioidea) with special reference to Dipetalonema setariosum (Mönnig, 1926) and Dipetalonema viteae (Krepkogorskaya, 1933). Ph.D Thesis. University of London.Google Scholar