Synthetic peptides as an antigenic base in an ELISA for laboratory diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2008 Apr;102(4):360-6. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.11.008.

Abstract

A pool of five synthetic peptides was used as an antigenic base in an ELISA (ELISA-Pp) for laboratory diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni. Serum samples were obtained from individuals with acute (n=23) and chronic (n=30) schistosomiasis, with other parasitoses (n=39) or without parasitic infections (n=100). ELISA-Pp was compared with other immunoenzymatic methods for detection of IgM (IgM-ELISA) or IgG (IgG-ELISA) as well as an immunofluorescence test for detection of IgM antibodies (IgM-IFT). The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA-Pp was 86.8% and 94.2% when tested on the schistosomiasis group and the non-schistosomiasis group, respectively. Comparison of ELISA-Pp with other serological methods resulted in kappa concordance indices varying from 0.59 to 0.75. Evaluation of anti-peptide IgG antibodies showed higher levels in patients with acute compared with chronic schistosomiasis (P=0.001). ELISA-Pp showed satisfactory sensitivity and high specificity and may constitute a potentially useful method for laboratory diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Protozoan / blood
  • Antigens, Helminth / immunology
  • Chronic Disease
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood
  • Peptide Fragments / immunology
  • Schistosoma mansoni / immunology
  • Schistosomiasis mansoni / diagnosis*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Antibodies, Protozoan
  • Antigens, Helminth
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Immunoglobulin M
  • Peptide Fragments