An immunogenic Onchocerca volvulus antigen: a specific and early marker of infection.
Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a serious health problem and a severe obstacle to social and economic development, especially in Africa. A complementary DNA fragment coding for an Onchocerca volvulus antigen (OV-16) was cloned and expressed in the plasmid vector pCG808fx. Immune responses to this O. volvulus-specific recombinant antigen were detectable in patients with documented onchocerciasis; the antibody response was also detectable at 3 months and at more than 1 year before infection could otherwise be detected in humans and in chimpanzees experimentally infected with O. volvulus third-stage larvae.
Lobos
E
E
Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Weiss
N
N
Karam
M
M
Taylor
H R
HR
Ottesen
E A
EA
Nutman
T B
TB
D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D008302:Mali; D009854:Onchocerca / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002679:Pan troglodytes
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth