Filarial Lymphedema Patients Are Characterized by Exhausted CD4 T Cells.

Worldwide, more than 200 million people are infected with filariae which can cause severe symptoms leading to reduced quality of life and contribute to disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). In particular, lymphatic filariasis (LF) caused by can lead to lymphedema (LE) and consequently presents a serious health problem. To understand why only a fraction of the infected individuals develop pathology, it is essential to understand how filariae regulate host immunity.

Adoptive Transfer of Immune Cells Into RAG2IL-2Rγ-Deficient Mice During Infection: A Novel Approach to Investigate Filarial-Specific Immune Responses.

Despite long-term mass drug administration programmes, approximately 220 million people are still infected with filariae in endemic regions. Several research studies have characterized host immune responses but a major obstacle for research on human filariae has been the inability to obtain adult worms which in turn has hindered analysis on infection kinetics and immune signalling. Although the filarial mouse model is well-established, the complex immunological mechanisms associated with filarial control and disease progression remain unclear and translation to human infections is difficult, especially since human filarial infections in rodents are limited.

Distinct Immune Profiles of Exhausted Effector and Memory CD8 T Cells in Individuals With Filarial Lymphedema.

CD8 T cells are crucial for the clearance of viral infections, and current research begins to highlight their importance in parasitic diseases too. In-depth research about characteristics of CD8 T-cell subsets and exhaustion remains uncertain, especially during filariasis, a chronic helminth infection. Lymphatic filariasis, elicited by , remains a serious health problem in endemic areas in Ghana, especially in those suffering from morbidity due to lymphedema (LE).