Development of a preliminary in vitro drug screening assay based on a newly established culturing system for pre-adult fifth-stage Onchocerca volvulus worms.
Denis VoroninNancy TricocheShabnam JawaharMichael ShlossmanChristina A BulmanChelsea FischerMichael T SudermanJudy A SakanariSara LustigmanPublished in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases (2019)
The 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.