The application of biochemical criteria to the assessment of macrofilarial viability.

Previous attempts to assess nematode viability have been critically reviewed and the need to apply more objective biochemical criteria emphasized. The practicalities of assay development have been discussed with regard to sensitivity, selectivity and methodological considerations. The biochemical basis and assay methology for six assays (adenine leakage, adenine uptake, leucine uptake, 14CO2 evolution, lactate output and MTT reduction) that we have recently evaluated are detailed. The viability of Acanthocheilonema viteae females exposed for 120 h in vitro to 17 standard compounds (at 10 microM) has been assessed using these six assays and compared relative to motility indices from the micromotility meter. It was concluded that, despite the slightly superior sensitivity of the 14CO2 evolution assay, the MTT reduction method was most suitable for field use due to its technical and practical simplicity, and its applicability to fragments of onchocercal tissue. It was suggested that, in the absence of a better in vitro assay, the feasability of using MTT reduction together with histology should be assessed in a validation exercise with Onchocerca gibsoni.