DETECTION OF CIRCULATING WUCHERERIA BANCROFTI ANTIGEN, FILARIA SPECIFIC IGG AND IGG4 IN CHYLURIA CASES IN JAPAN

Serum sarnples from Japanese chyluria patients were examined for filaria specific antibodies and a circulating filarial antigen in order to know if the symptom was filarial in origin. A11 the sera were negative for the circulating antigen. Anti-Brugia pahangi antibodies were detected in 6 out of 16 serum samples by ELISA after absorption of the sera with Anisakis and Dirofilaria immitis antigens. One of the positive sera showed a high titer for anti-B. pahangi lgG4, suggesting that Wuchereria bancrofti adults were surviving in the patient in recent years. Detection of antibodies would be helpful for immunodiagnosis of filarial chyluria in Japan, where filarial origin is often determined based simply on the history of residence in the past endemic areas.