Ultrastructural and cytochemical aspects of the cuticle of adult Wuchereria bancrofti (Nematoda: Filarioidea).

Because of the practical limitations of obtaining viable adult forms of the Wuchereria bancrofti, the major species responsible for human lymphatic filariasis, only few ultrastructural studies were carried out. Adult worms present the cuticle as the interface structure between host and parasite. Cuticle structure and the demonstration of the presence of basic proteins, lipids, small amounts of terminal carbohydrate residues, phospholipids and collagen in the cuticle was undertaken on thin sections of embedded parasites. Using immunocytochemical methods, antigenic epitopes similar to those found in the extra cellular matrix of vertebrates were localized on thin sections of the Lowicryl embedded adult filariae.