摘要：Summary (The Wolbachia endosymbionts of filarial nematodes: implications for the treatment and
pathogenesis of filarial diseases). - Filarial nematodes harbour intracellular, Gram-negative bacteria belonging
to the genus Wolbachia. These bacteria have been observed in various species of filariae, including the main
filariasis agents of humans and animals. It has been suggested that Wolbachia could play an important role in the
biology of filarial nematodes and could be implicated in the pathogenesis of filarial diseases. Wolbachia could
thus represent a target for the control of filariasis and a key to the understanding of these diseases. Indeed, in
various species of filariae, tetracycline treatments have been shown both to reduce/eliminate the Wolbachia
population and to determine detrimental effects on the nematodes. In addition, proteins of Wolbachia have been
shown to determine specific IgG responses in animals infected by filariae and some Wolbachia molecules (e.g.
LPS) have been shown to stimulate innate-immunity responses (e.g. production of cytokines such as IL1, IL6,
IL10, TNF-α and IFN-γ by macrophages)
