Utility ofSchistosoma bovisAdult Worm Antigens for Diagnosis of Human Schistosomiasis by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Electroimmunotransfer Blot Techniques

Abstract

Immunodiagnostic methods based on the detection of antibodies continue to be the most effective and practical methods for the diagnosis of imported schistosomiasis. Schistosoma bovis is a species whose final natural hosts are bovines, ovines, caprines, and small wild ruminants. Different studies have demonstrated the analogies existing between S. bovis and other Schistosoma species which affect humans. The objective of this work was to evaluate the utility of S. bovis adult worm antigens (AWA) for the diagnosis of imported human schistosomiasis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and electroimmunotransfer blotting (EITB) techniques. By detecting eggs, the ELISA for S. bovis AWA was able to definitively detect imported cases with a sensitivity of 94%. The specificity of the ELISA for S. bovis AWA was 97%. There were no differences between the results of the S. bovis AWA ELISA for patients infected with Schistosoma mansoni and those infected with Schistosoma haematobium. The EITB technique showed bands of 85, 37, and 20 kDa, which are characteristic of infections with Schistosoma spp. Specific bands to indicate infection by different species of Schistosoma have not been detected. The combined use of the ELISA for S. bovis AWA and EITB increased the global sensitivity of the study to 97%. Our findings suggest that the ELISA for S. bovis AWA is a useful test for the immunodiagnosis of imported schistosomiasis and that EITB for detecting S. bovis AWA permits the confirmation of diagnosis when the ELISA for S. bovis AWA is positive.

Evaluation of Eight Serological Tests for Diagnosis of Imported Schistosomiasis

“…Most likely, species-specific heterogeneities of the utilized antigens were responsible for the observed differences. Although it has been shown that S. mansoni proteins used for serological testing have sufficient similarity to allow serodiagnosis of S. haematobium infections (32), some species-specific differences remain, favoring test systems using homologous antigens (2,19,22,30,36,39,42). Nevertheless, species-specific performance differences were not determined only by the utilized antigens.…”

Identifying phenotypes involved in susceptibility to Schistosoma mansoni infection in F1B6CBA mice

“…The Specific Worm Antigen Product (SWAP) was obtained as previously described (Pardo et al 2004). ELISAs were performed by coating polystyrene plates (Costar) with 0.1 ml of 10 mg/ml SWAP in Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS) overnight at 4°C.…”

Anti-SchistosomaIgG responses inSchistosoma haematobiumsingle and concomitant infection with malaria parasites

“…This assay employed the qualitative enzyme immunoassay technique. 20 The crude eggsoluble antigen (50 μL) of 3 μg/mL diluted 1:200 in carbonate buffer (pH 9.6) was used to coat the microtiter well plates and then incubated overnight at 4 °C. This was followed by washing of plates with 0.05% Tween 20 in PBS-Tween 20, thrice.…”