Recombinant protein- and synthetic peptide-based immunoblot test for diagnosis of neurocysticercosis

John Noh, Silvia Rodriguez, Yeuk Mui Lee, Sukwan Handali, Armando E. Gonzalez, Robert H. Gilman, Victor C.W. Tsang, Hector H. Garcia, Patricia P. Wilkins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

One of the most well-characterized tests for diagnosing neurocysticercosis (NCC) is the enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) assay developed at the CDC, which uses lentil lectin-bound glycoproteins (LLGP) extracted from Taenia solium cysticerci. Although the test is very reliable, the purification process for the LLGP antigens has been difficult to transfer to other laboratories because of the need for expensive equipment and technical expertise. To develop a simpler assay, we previously purified and cloned the diagnostic glycoproteins in the LLGP fraction. In this study, we evaluated three representative recombinant or synthetic antigens from the LLGP fraction, individually and in different combinations, using an immunoblot assay (recombinant EITB). Using a panel of 249 confirmed NCC-positive and 401 negative blood serum samples, the sensitivity of the recombinant EITB assay was determined to be 99% and the specificity was 99% for diagnosing NCC. We also tested a panel of 239 confirmed NCC-positive serum samples in Lima, Peru, and found similar results. Overall, our data show that the performance characteristics of the recombinant EITB assay are comparable to those of the LLGP-EITB assay. This new recombinant- and synthetic antigen-based assay is sustainable and can be easily transferred to other laboratories in the United States and throughout the world.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1429-1434
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of clinical microbiology
Volume52
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2014

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)

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