Immunity to filarial nematodes.

Mosquito-borne filarial nematodes cause the severe, debilitating disease of human lymphatic filariasis. In areas endemic for this disease, differential responses range from putative immunity through asymptomatic microfilaraemic infection to chronic pathology. Current research in mouse models of infection is elucidating the immunological mechanisms that can lead to immunity against this disease. In this review, the importance of different immunological pathways are discussed in relation to their role in human disease and in terms of their ability to kill separate developmental stages of the filarial parasite.