title: Prospects for T. cruzi lineage-specific serological surveillance of wild mammals.
abstract: Sequence diversity in the Trypanosoma cruzi small surface molecule TSSA has yielded antigens for serology to investigate the T. cruzi lineage-specific infection history of patients with Chagas disease. Synthetic peptides can be used as the lineage-specific antigens. Here we consider the rationale, feasibility and potential of applying peptide-based lineage-specific serology to naturally infected wild mammals. The commercial availability of appropriate secondary antibodies encourages this further development, for discovery of new reservoir host species and to reveal the wider ecological distribution of T. cruzi lineages, currently hindered by the need to recover live isolates or to attempt genotyping of DNA extracted from blood samples.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: tapan.bhattacharyya@lshtm.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Tapan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bhattacharyya
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Pavilhão Rocha Lima, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Miles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology*; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000469:parasitology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000469:parasitology*; D004463:Ecology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000469:parasitology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012703:Serotyping; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000235:genetics*; D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014643:Variant Surface Glycoproteins, Trypanosoma; C573505:trypomastigote small surface antigen, Trypanosoma cruzi
keywords: Lineage-specific; Reservoir; Serology; Silvatic; TSSA; Trypanosoma cruzi