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RELATIONSHIP OF ANTI-MICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF TETRACYCLINES TO THEIR ABILITY TO BLOCK THE L3 TO L4 MOLT OF THE HUMAN FILARIAL PARASITE BRUGIA MALAYI

The nematode parasites Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. timori cause a human disease known as lymphatic filariasis, which afflicts approximately 120 million people worldwide. These organisms are known to contain endosymbiotic bacteria (Wolbachia) that are related to rickettsiae. It has been previously reported that tetracycline blocks the L3 to L4 molt of the filarial parasite B. malayi, and suggested that this was related to their known anti-rickettsial activity. However, this interpretation was tempered by several observations. First, Wolbachia DNA could still be detected in nematodes from tetracycline-treated cultures. In addition, chloramphenicol, which has anti-rickettsial and anti-chlamydial activity, failed to inhibit the molt. These observations could not rule out the possibility that the anti-molting activity of tetracycline is due to pharmacologic activities unrelated to its anti-rickettsial functions. This study shows that chemically modified tetracycline, which does not to have anti-microbial activity, also blocks molting.

Received December 30, 2003. Accepted for publication March 3, 2004.

Acknowledgments: I thank Carol McGuiness for excellent technical assistance and Jennifer Wegh for typing the manuscript. The idea of testing whether the CMTs could block molting was first suggested by Drs. Akhil and Ashok Vaidya.

Financial support: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (AI-042362, AI-050228, and AI-039075).

Author’s address: T. V. Rajan, Department of Pathology, Room L-1037, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington CT 06030-3105, Telephone: 860-679-3221, Fax: 860-679-2936, E-mail: rajan{at}neuron.uchc.edu.