The Diagnosis of Human Fascioliasis by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Using Recombinant Cathepsin L Protease
Autor: | Michael Parkinson, Momar Ndao, Bibiana Gonzales Santana, Fabio Vasquez Camargo, John P. Dalton |
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Rok vydání: | 2013 |
Předmět: |
Fascioliasis
lcsh:Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine lcsh:RC955-962 Cathepsin L 030231 tropical medicine Antibodies Helminth Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Biology Sensitivity and Specificity 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Blood serum Cathepsin L1 Tropical Medicine parasitic diseases medicine Helminths Fasciola hepatica Animals Humans Mass screening 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences Fasciola Clinical Laboratory Techniques lcsh:Public aspects of medicine Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health lcsh:RA1-1270 Helminth Proteins biology.organism_classification medicine.disease Virology Recombinant Proteins 3. Good health Infectious Diseases Parasitology Parasitic disease Antigens Helminth Immunology Research Article |
Zdroj: | PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 7, Iss 9, p e2414 (2013) PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
Popis: | Background Fascioliasis is a worldwide parasitic disease of domestic animals caused by helminths of the genus Fasciola. In many parts of the world, particularly in poor rural areas where animal disease is endemic, the parasite also infects humans. Adult parasites reside in the bile ducts of the host and therefore diagnosis of human fascioliasis is usually achieved by coprological examinations that search for parasite eggs that are carried into the intestine with the bile juices. However, these methods are insensitive due to the fact that eggs are released sporadically and may be missed in low-level infections, and fasciola eggs may be misclassified as other parasites, leading to problems with specificity. Furthermore, acute clinical symptoms as a result of parasites migrating to the bile ducts appear before the parasite matures and begins egg laying. A human immune response to Fasciola antigens occurs early in infection. Therefore, an immunological method such as ELISA may be a more reliable, easy and cheap means to diagnose human fascioliasis than coprological analysis. Methodology/Principal findings Using a panel of serum from Fasciola hepatica-infected patients and from uninfected controls we have optimized an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which employs a recombinant form of the major F. hepatica cathepsin L1 as the antigen for the diagnosis of human fascioliasis. We examined the ability of the ELISA test to discern fascioliasis from various other helminth and non-helminth parasitic diseases. Conclusions/Significance A sensitive and specific fascioliasis ELISA test has been developed. This test is rapid and easy to use and can discriminate fasciola-infected individuals from patients harbouring other parasites with at least 99.9% sensitivity and 99.9% specificity. This test will be a useful standardized method not only for testing individual samples but also in mass screening programs to assess the extent of human fascioliasis in regions where this zoonosis is suspected. Author Summary Fascioliasis is a food-borne human disease caused by helminth parasites of the genus Fasciola. It is a global disease of domestic animals but its increased recognition as a major zoonosis has led to the World Health Organization including fascioliasis on the list of important human parasitic diseases. Current diagnosis of human fascioliasis involves the detection of eggs in the stool. However, eggs are not observed during the acute phase when the parasite is migrating through the tissues, and can be missed during the chronic phase when parasites are in the bile duct due to the sporadic release of the bile into the intestines. Using a panel of serum from Fasciola hepatica-infected patients, we have optimized an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) which employs a recombinant form of the major F. hepatica cathepsin L1 as the antigen for the diagnosis of human fascioliasis. The test is easy to use and can discriminate fasciola-infected individuals from patients harbouring other parasites with 99.9% sensitivity and 99.9% specificity. This ELISA will be a useful standardized method not only for testing individual samples but also in mass screening programs to assess the extent of human fascioliasis in regions where this zoonosis is suspected. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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