The use of monoclonal antibodies in studies of filarial parasite antigens.

The strength of the hybridoma technology in providing probes for the study of parasite immunology is obvious. The use of monoclonal antibodies should greatly expedite the task of the identification and the isolation of antigens which are relevant to host protection, of immunodiagnosis and of immunopathology. We have produced a series of monoclonal antibodies against Brugia malayi which causes lymphatic filariasis in man. One of these monoclonal antibodies (IgM isotype) can detect circulating antigens in the sera of individuals and of laboratory animals infected with B. malayi by radioimmunoprecipitation-PEG assay. This monoclonal antibody can bind to the relevant epitope of the circulating antigen or to the antigenic determinants of the immune complexes that remained exposed in the complex. A few monoclonal antibodies raised against B. malayi were selected, one of which gave positive fluorescence reaction on the surface of microfilariae. This particular monoclonal antibody showed such biological activities as conferring resistance to circulating microfilariae and inducing cell-mediated killing of microfilariae in vitro. The same monoclonal antibody was able to identify antigenic determinants (of mol. wt, 110 Kd) on the surface of B. malayi microfilariae which may be involved in effector mechanisms related to the development of transmission inhibiting immunity in lymphatic filariasis.