BRUGIA-PAHANGI - UPTAKE AND INCORPORATION OF ADENOSINE AND THYMIDINE

The uptake and incorporation of adenosine and thymidine by infective larvae, 10 day old juvenile and adult stages of B. pahangi [filarial nematode from Mericones unguiculatus] were investigated using scintillation counting and autoradiographic techniques. No evidence of thymidine incorporation by the worm was obtained in this study. Scintillation counting methods demonstrated that 14C-labeled adenosine was incorporated by all 3 stages of this filarial worm. Autoradiography, performed on worms incubated in [3H] adenosine from 5 min through 2 h, revealed that following 5-15 min incubation, the greatest degree of adenosine incorporation occurred in the hypodermis and somatic cords. Adenosine incorporation into the deeper body tissues, including the gut, increased significantly with longer periods of incubation. Nutrient uptake in B. pahangi apparently occurs by a transcuticular route.