Expression of recombinant microfilarial chitinase and analysis of domain function.

A family of chitinase isozymes was previously characterized from the microfilariae of Brugia malayi and Brugia pahangi. The expression of these enzymes correlates with the onset of microfilarial infectivity for the mosquito vector. To study the role of chitinase activity in filarial transmission, the p70 chitinase from Brugia malayi was cloned and expressed in two forms: a full-length product of approximately 62 kDa and a truncated product of 43 kDa containing only the N-terminal catalytic domain.