Research article summary (published 13 Oct 2009):

Heritable factors play a major role in determining host responses to Wuchereria bancrofti infection in an isolated South Pacific island population.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND: It is increasingly recognized that host genetic factors may play an important role in determining the outcome of filarial infections. To test this hypothesis in bancroftian lymphatic filariasis, pedigree data were collected twice during an 18-year period from an isolated Polynesian population living on a Pacific island where lymphatic filariasis is endemic. METHODS: Using variance-component analysis, we examined the contribution of shared genetic and environmental effects on host clinical and immune responses to filarial infection, along with potential confounding determinants. RESULTS: Sex was found to have a negligible influence on heritability estimates, but shared-household effects accounted for up to 32% of host variability. After accounting for these shared-household effects, heritability estimates suggested that levels of microfilariae and circulating adult worm antigen, as well as host eosinophil and immunoglobulin G antibody responses to larval and adult worm antigens, were highly heritable (range of heritability estimates, 0.15-0.84). CONCLUSIONS: These data provide evidence of a key role for genetic factors in determining the host response to filarial infections in humans and emphasize the complexity of the relationships among the host, parasite, and environment.

Author information

Author/s: Cuenco, Karen T (KT); Ottesen, Eric A (EA); Williams, Steven A (SA); Nutman, Thomas B (TB); Steel, Cathy (C);

Affiliation: Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

Journal: The Journal of infectious diseases (J Infect Dis), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Oct; vol 200 (issue 8) : pp 1271-8

Dates: Created 2009/09/23; Completed 2009/10/29;

PMID: 19754310, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/29/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent Adult Age Distribution Animals Child Elephantiasis, Filarial - genetics Endemic Diseases Female

Genetic Predisposition to Disease Genetic Variation Humans Male Middle Aged Polynesia - epidemiology Wuchereria bancrofti - physiology Young Adult

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• Clustering of Brugia malayi infection in a community in South-Sulawesi, Indonesia. 30 Dec 1999
• Genetic polymorphisms in molecules of innate immunity and susceptibility to infection with Wuchereria bancrofti in South India. 30 Jul 2001
• Genetic variation in immune function and susceptibility to human filariasis. 29 Apr 2003
• Polymorphisms of innate immunity genes and susceptibility to lymphatic filariasis. 29 Sep 2003
• HLA and elephantiasis in lymphatic filariasis. 30 Aug 1995

See 100+ related articles.

Related Article Map

Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. - Title only. More help.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.