Comparative evaluation of purified Taenia solium glycoproteins and crude metacestode extracts by immunoblotting for the serodiagnosis of human T. solium cysticercosis

Abstract

A lentil-lectin purified glycoprotein (LL-Gp) and a crude saline extract of Taenia solium metacestodes were compared for the immunodiagnosis of human cysticercosis by immunoblotting. The LL-Gp preparation was 95% sensitive for antibodies against a range of seven antigens with molecular masses of 50 to 13 kDa, whereas the sensitivity of the crude saline extract for the detection of antibodies against two major polypeptide molecules (26 and 8 kDa) was 91%. Specificity was 100% with both sets of diagnostic antigens. Affinity-purified antibodies against the 26-kDa molecule from the crude saline extract recognized the 24-kDa diagnostic region in the LL-Gp-purified extract and vice versa, suggesting that the antigens had common epitopes recognized by cysticercotic sera. In addition, in a preliminary community study of 115 randomly selected people from Bali (Indonesia), seroprevalence by immunoblot assay varied from 7.8% (with the crude saline antigen extract) to 9.6% (with the LL-Gp-purified extract). The results of this study demonstrate that both antigenic preparations are applicable for the immunodiagnosis of T. solium cysticercosis. The crude T. solium metacestode antigen extract was as specific as the purified LL-Gp T. solium metacestode extract and simpler to produce but slightly less sensitive.

Comparative profile of circulating antigenic peptides in CSF, serum & urine from patients with neurocysticercosis diagnosed by immunoblotting

“…Presently, the EITB using anti‐somatic antibody and ES antibody could detect both high (131, 128, and 70 kDa) and low molecular weight peptides (19·5 and 16 kDa) in CSF. From studies carried out in past, only lower molecular weight peptides (14 and 18 kDa) were detected in CSF which were also observed to show cross reactivity with T. solium and Taenia crassiceps species as reported in another study . In our study, the 24 kDa peptide was detected in 2 CSF samples from controls with other diseases, whereas 19·5 and 16 kDa peptides were detected in 1 control CSF only when anti‐somatic antibody was used.…”

Community prevalence study of taeniasis and cysticercosis in Bali, Indonesia

“…The immunoblotting technique we used has been reported as a highly specific, sensitive test for cysticercosis ( Rodriguez‐Canul et al . 1997 ).…”

“…Sera were stored at –20 °C until testing in the UK by immunoblot assay. This assay has been used for a number of immunoepidemiological studies ( Rodriguez‐Canul et al . 1997 , 1998) and is 100% specific for cysticercosis.…”

“…We used a combination of a robust, sensitive and specific coproantigen ELISA previously used for screening and epidemiology studies in Central America ( Allan et al . 1996 ) and a highly specific immunoblot assay using a T. solium whole metacestode extract ( Rodriguez‐Canul et al . 1997 ) to determine the numbers of taeniasis and cysticercosis cases respectively.…”

Neurocysticercosis in non-endemic Muslim areas: A report of seven cases from Kuwait

“…Several immunologic blood and cerebrospinal fluid tests were developed for the diagnosis but none was proven to be very sensitive or specific and only around 25% of children with proven NCC have been reported to have positive serum serology [9,10]. In Kuwait these tests are not available and blood samples are sent abroad causing delay in the serological confirmation (some of the results were even lost).…”