Rickettsia conorii, the causative agent of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) and Rickettsia africae, the etiologic agent of African tick-bite fever (ATBF), are strict intracellular bacteria transmitted by ticks belonging to the spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia. The laboratory diagnosis is based on serology, but remains not enough specific to provide the diagnosis at the species level. Here, we attempted to detecty immunogenic proteins specific from Rickettsia conorii and Rickettsia africae by proximity ligation assay based Western blotting (PLA WB). In general, we obtained better sensitivity and specificity of bands detection in PLA WB in case of proteins probed with IFA R. conorii or R. africae positive sera. In parallel, we have screened 20 rickettsial recombinant proteins by ELISA with sera infected by R. conorii and R. africae, respectively. We identified several potential markers which allowed infection due to R. conorii to be discriminated from those due to R. africae. Never the less, this technique must be optimized for use in laboratory diagnostic routine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.