title: Early detection of circulating DNA of Schistosoma japonicum in sentinel mice models.
abstract: Currently in China, the schistosomiasis control program has shifted its focus from transmission control to the elimination of the disease. Effective forecast and surveillance systems of schistiosomiasis are of great importance for issuing timely and early warnings on risk of infection, and therefore implementing preventive measures to avoid infection. There is great demand in more sensitive and specific methods to improve the surveillance system for early detection of S. japonicum infection in sentinel mice. In this study, we reported a sensitive nested-PCR assay targeting a 303-bp fragment from highly repetitive retrotransposon SjCHGCS19 to detect the S. japonicum DNA in sera of experimental mice. Meanwhile, detection efficacy of the nested-PCR was compared with two conventional methods for field monitoring schistosomiasis such as ELISA and IHA. The nested-PCR assay could detect the specific DNA at 3-day post-infection in sera of mice with 5 cercariae infection, while for ELISA and IHA, both show negative results even after 2 weeks post-infection in mice with 20 cercariae infection. Our results demonstrated the DNA-based assay was more sensitive to make early diagnosis of S. japonicum infection in sentinel mice models, which will improve the early-warning ability of schistosomiasis surveillance system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: jxu2014@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: duanzhongliang666@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhong Liang
authors.initials: ZL
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 891913495@qq.com.
authors.forename: Zhi Xun
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: happyftrh@163.com.
authors.forename: Yan Yan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 790019755@qq.com.
authors.forename: Cai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: 751421207@qq.com.
authors.forename: Ting Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: zhanghuiqin@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hui Qin
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University, 1760 Haygood Dr., Atlanta 30322, Georgia. Electronic address: xqian2@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Ximei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: xiachaoming@suda.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chao Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011897:Random Allocation; D012549:Schistosoma japonicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012554:Schistosomiasis japonica / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000072739:Sentinel Species; D012908:Snails
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D018509:DNA, Helminth
keywords: Diagnosis; Schistosomiasis; SjCHGCS19; Surveillance