title: Preliminary study of the presence of antibodies against excretory-secretory antigens from protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus in dogs with intestinal echinococcosis.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to analyze the antibody response against excretory-secretory antigens (ES-Ag) from Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces, using sera from dogs infected with E. granulosus and other helminths. ES-Ag were obtained from the first 50 h maintenance of protoscoleces in vitro. Immunochemical characterization was performed by immunoblotting with sera from dogs naturally infected with E. granulosus (n = 12), sera from dogs infected with helminths other than E. granulosus (n = 30), and helminth-free dog sera (n = 20). These findings were compared to those obtained from a somatic extract of protoscoleces (S-Ag). ES-Ag only showed four cross-reacting proteins of 65, 61, 54, and 45-46 kDa. Antigens with apparent masses of 89 and 50 kDa in ES-Ag and of 130 and 67 kDa in S-Ag were identified by sera of dogs infected with E. granulosus only, whereas a protein of 41-43 kDa was recognised by the majority of the sera from dogs with non-echinococcal infection. Employing ELISA to study the same sera, S-Ag revealed higher immunoreactivity than ES-Ag, but also showed higher cross-reactivity levels when sera from dogs with non-echinococcal infection were assayed in immunoblotting.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Inmunología, Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad del País Vasco, 01080-Vitoria, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Carmena
authors.forename: Aitziber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benito
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Guisantes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000276:immunology*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D048209:Echinococcus granulosus / Q000276:immunology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012756:Sheep / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D000947:Antigens, Helminth