title: Detection of antibodies in sera from Chagas' disease patients using a Trypanosoma cruzi immunodominant recombinant antigen.
abstract: A Trypanosoma cruzi DNA fragment encoding an immunodominant repetitive antigen (H49) was subcloned into a protein purification and expressed system. Purified H49 peptide reacted specifically in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with sera from T. cruzi-infected patients, but not with sera from patients with other parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis and T. rangeli-infection. The H49 recombinant ELISA was able to detect specific antibodies in 84% of chronic chagasic serum samples tested. One of the major advantage of the recombinant ELISA for serodiagnosis of chronic Chagas' disease resides in its high specificity (100%). Our data suggest that recombinant peptides could provide a practical basis for specific diagnosis tests for Chagas' disease.
authors.affiliation: Bio-Mérieux, Lyon, France; Biolab Diagnóstica, São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Paranhos-Bacalla
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Cotrim
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rassi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jolivet
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Da Silveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000276:immunology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D012698:Serologic Tests; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins