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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Parasitol. 2019 Dec 19;36(2):195–205. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2019.11.005

Figure 1: Human can develop protective immune responses against lymphatic filariasis (LF).

Figure 1:

In the endemic region, certain individuals who are naturally immune to the LF infection carry high titer of parasite-specific IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 antibodies in their peripheral circulation. These antibodies were protective in an antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity mechanism. When an infected mosquito transfer the infective larvae of LF into the body of immune individuals, the protective antibodies and CD11b+, FcγR1 bearing macrophages that produce copious amounts of myeloperoxidases and nitric oxide can bind to the surface of B. malayi L3 larva resulting in the death of the larva. IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-6 and IL-5 secreting cells were also found attached to the dead larva. Depletion of IgG antibodies prevented cell adherence and larval death suggesting that IgG antibodies and macrophages are critical for the protective immune responses in the human. The figure was created with BioRender.com.