ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2019
Development of a preliminary in vitro drug screening assay based on a newly established culturing system for pre-adult fifth-stage Onchocerca volvulus worms.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Preclinical animal models for onchocerciasis and loiasis: A systematic review of applications in drug screening.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Onchocerciasis overview: pathogenesis, clinical spectrum, and therapeutic challenges of a neglected tropical disease.Frontiers in parasitology · 2026Review
- Leveraging microphysiological systems to expedite understanding of host-parasite interactions.PLoS pathogens · 2025Review
- Comparative development of human filariaeFrontiers in tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Optimized strategy for real-time qPCR detection of Onchocerca volvulus DNA in pooled Simulium sp. blackfly vectors.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- The Truman Show for Human Helminthic Parasites: A Review of Recent Advances in In Vitro Cultivation Platforms.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Article
- Discovery of Substituted Di(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-thiadiazol-5-amines as Novel Macrofilaricidal Compounds for the Treatment of Human Filarial Infections.Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2022Article
- A mouse infection model and long-term lymphatic endothelium co-culture system to evaluate drugs against adult Brugia malayi.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Pyrvinium Pamoate and Structural Analogs Are Early Macrofilaricide Leads.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Onchocerciasis drug development: from preclinical models to humans.Parasitology research · 2021Review
- Human filariasis-contributions of the Litomosoides sigmodontis and Acanthocheilonema viteae animal model.Parasitology research · 2021Review
- High-content approaches to anthelmintic drug screening.Trends in parasitology · 2021Review
- Three-Dimensional Culture ofInsects · 2021Article
- Drugs that target early stages of Onchocerca volvulus: A revisited means to facilitate the elimination goals for onchocerciasis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Establishment of an in vitro culture system to study the developmental biology of Onchocerca volvulus with implications for anti-Onchocerca drug discovery and screening.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- An Integrated Approach to Identify New Anti-Filarial Leads to Treat River Blindness, a Neglected Tropical Disease.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Preliminary evaluations of 3-dimensional human skin models for their ability to facilitate in vitro the long-term development of the debilitating obligatory human parasite Onchocerca volvulus.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Oxfendazole mediates macrofilaricidal efficacy against the filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis in vivo and inhibits Onchocerca spec. motility in vitro.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Individuals living in an onchocerciasis focus and treated three-monthly with ivermectin develop fewer new onchocercal nodules than individuals treated annually.Parasites & vectors · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe human filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus is the causative agent of onchocerciasis (river blindness). It causes blindness in 270,000 individuals with an additional 6.5 million suffering from severe skin pathologies. Current international control programs focus on the reduction of microfilaridermia by annually administering ivermectin for more than 20 years with the ultimate goal of blocking of transmission. The adult worms of O. volvulus can live within nodules for over 15 years and actively release microfilariae for the majority of their lifespan. Therefore, protracted treatment courses of ivermectin are required to block transmission and eventually eliminate the disease. To shorten the time to elimination of this disease, drugs that successfully target macrofilariae (adult parasites) are needed. Unfortunately, there is no small animal model for the infection that could be used for discovery and screening of drugs against adult O. volvulus parasites. Here, we present an in vitro culturing system that supports the growth and development of O. volvulus young adult worms from the third-stage (L3) infective stage. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsIn this study we optimized the culturing system by testing several monolayer cell lines to support worm growth and development. We have shown that the optimized culturing system allows for the growth of the L3 worms to L5 and that the L5 mature into young adult worms. Moreover, these young O. volvulus worms were used in preliminary assays to test putative macrofilaricidal drugs and FDA-approved repurposed drugs.
conclusionThe culture system we have established for O. volvulus young adult worms offers a promising new platform to advance drug discovery against the human filarial parasite, O. volvulus and thus supports the continuous pursuit for effective macrofilaricidal drugs. However, this in vitro culturing system will have to be further validated for reproducibility before it can be rolled out as a drug screen for decision making in macrofilaricide drug development programs.
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