Up-converting phosphor technology-based lateral flow assay for detection of Schistosoma circulating anodic antigen in serum.
Schistosoma sp. circular anodic antigen (CAA) serum concentrations reflect actual worm burden in a patient and are a valuable tool for population screening and epidemiological research. However, for the diagnosis of individual imported schistosomiasis cases, the current enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) lacks sensitivity and robustness. Therefore, a lateral flow (LF) assay was developed to test CAA in serum for individual diagnosis of imported active schistosome infections. Application of fluorescent submicron-sized up-converting phosphor technology (UPT) reporter particles increased analytical sensitivity compared to that of the standard ELISA method. Evaluation of the UPT-LF test with a selection of 40 characterized epidemiologic samples indicated a good correlation between signal intensity and infection intensity. Subsequently, the UPT-LF assay was applied to 166 serum samples of Dutch residents (immigrants and travelers) suspected of schistosomiasis, a case in which group routine antibody detection frequently fails straightforward diagnosis. The UPT-LF assay identified 36 CAA-positive samples, compared to 15 detected by CAA-ELISA. In conclusion, the UPT-LF assay is a low-complexity test with higher sensitivity than the CAA-ELISA, well suited for laboratory diagnosis of individual active Schistosoma infections.
Corstjens
Paul L A M
PL
Leiden University Medical Center, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Bldg. 2, S-01-030, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. Corstjens@LUMC.NL
van Lieshout
Lisette
L
Zuiderwijk
Michel
M
Kornelis
Dieuwke
D
Tanke
Hans J
HJ
Deelder
Andre M
AM
van Dam
Govert J
GJ
D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D012547:Schistosoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry
D000947:Antigens, Helminth