Wolbachia depletion blocks transmission of lymphatic filariasis by preventing chitinase-dependent parasite exsheathment.

ABSTRACT: Lymphatic filariasis is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease prioritized for global elimination. The filarial nematodes that cause the disease host a symbiotic bacterium, Wolbachia, which has been targeted using antibiotics, leading to cessation of parasite embryogenesis, waning of circulating larvae (microfilariae [mf]), and gradual cure of adult infection. One of the benefits of the anti-Wolbachia mode of action is that it avoids the rapid killing of mf, which can drive inflammatory adverse events. However, mf depleted of Wolbachia persist for several months in circulation, and thus patients treated with antibiotics are assumed to remain at risk for transmitting infections. Here, we show that Wolbachia-depleted mf rapidly lose the capacity to develop in the mosquito vector through a

SUBMITTER: Quek S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9169722 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature