RESUMEN
Objective To analyze the immunological characteristics of Trichinella spiralis secretory antigen P53 and to evaluate its value in diagnosis of trichinellosis. Methods An open read frame of secretory antigen P53 was cloned from Trichinella spiralis by reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and then sequenced. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to search for its homologues in other helminths and predict its potential linear B cell epitopes and T cell epitopes. The sequence coding mature peptide was inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a(+) and the purified recombinant product was identified by Western blot using serum samples of patients infected with Trichinella spiralis or other helminth. Results Bioinformaties analysis results showed that there was no P53 homologue in other helminths, which indicated that there were many linear B cell epitopes and T cell epitopes in TsP53. The recombinant P53 antigen only reacted with the serum samples of patients infected with Trichinella spiralis without any cross-reaction with the serum of patients infected with other helminths. Conclusion P53 has strong immunogenicity and immunoreactivity, which may be a promising candidate for developing Trichinella spiralis specific diagnostic method.