THESES
THE USE OF ANTIGENIC PREPARATION OF TAENIA CRASSICEPS CYSTICERCUS TO DETECT ANTIBODIES IN NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS (TAENIA SOLIUM) (ABSTRACT)* * Utilização de preparações antigênicas de cisticercos de Taenia crassiceps para pesquisa de anticorpos na neurocisticercose (Resumo) Dissertação de Mestrado. Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas da Universidade de São Paulo (Área: Análises Clínicas). Orientadora: Adelaide José Vaz. . DISSERTATION. SÃO PAULO, 2000.
ALESSANDRA XAVIER PARDINI** ** Address: Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 580 Bloco 13 A, Cidade Universitária, 05508-900 São Paulo SP, Brasil.
The human taeniasis-cysticercosis complex represents an important socioeconomic and public health problem in developing countries, including Brazil. The most severe form of the disease is due to the localization of cysticerci in the central nervous system, i.e. neurocysticercosis.
Due to the difficulty in obtaining parasites from naturally infected swine, we studied an alternative source consisting of Taenia crassiceps cysticerci (heterologous antigen) for the search of anti-cysticercus antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with neurocysticercosis.
We studied the antigenic extracts of vesicular fluid of Taenia crassiceps cysticerci (VF-Tcra) and the purified fractions Concavalin-A (ConA-Tcra) obtained from an affinity column with lectin and fractionated glycoprotein (GP-Tcra) obtained from the VF-Tcra antigen by preparative electrophoresis.
The VF-Tcra, ConA-Tcra and GP-Tcra antigens for the detection of IgG antibodies were assayed by ELISA in CSF samples and by immunoblot in CSF and serum samples. A commercial ELISA kit with Taenia solium antigen was also used.
The sensitivity and specificity obtained for the VF-Tcra, ConA-Tcra and GP-Tcra were 100% in the ELISA test, with good reproductibility.
The peptides in order of frequency of reactivity with the VF-Tcra antigen were: 14-11 kD, (100%), 62 kD (100%), 68 kd (100%), 91 kD (76%), 25 kD (70%), 46 kD (64%), 18 kD (58%), 43 kD (23%), 9-8 kD (17%), 56 kD (11%), and 32 kD (11%). The following peptides, in order of frequency, were identified for ConA-Tcra antigen: 14 kD (100%), 28 kD (66%), 18 kD (55%), 46 kD (44%), 43 kD (22%), 94 kD (22%), and 103 kD (22%). Only peptides of 14-18 kD were identified for the GP-Tcra antigen. CSF samples from patients with schistosomiasis did not show reactivity with the antigenic extracts and a CSF sample from a patient with neurosyphilis presented strong reactivity with the low molecular weight (< 20 kD) peptides for the three antigens also in the commercial ELISA with the Taenia solium antigen.
The results confirm that Taenia crassiceps antigens are important alternative sources of antigenic extracts. The glycoprotein fractions proved to be efficient in detecting anti-T.solium antibodies in CSF and serum samples from patients with neurocysticercosis.
KEY WORDS: cysticercosis, cerebrospinal fluid, Taenia crassicepscysticercus antigen.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
01 Dec 2000 -
Date of issue
Dec 2000
