Comparison of recombinant Trypanosoma cruzi peptide mixtures versus multiepitope chimeric proteins as sensitizing antigens for immunodiagnosis.

The aim of this work was to determine the best strategy to display antigens (Ags) on immunochemical devices to improve test selectivity and sensitivity. We comparatively evaluated five Trypanosoma cruzi antigenic recombinant peptides, chose the three more sensitive ones, built up chimeras bearing these selected Ags, and systematically compared by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay the performance of the assortments of those peptides with that of the multiepitope constructions bearing all those peptides lineally fused. The better-performing Ags that were compared included peptides homologous to the previously described T. cruzi flagellar repetitive Ag (here named RP1), shed acute-phase Ag (RP2), B13 (RP5), and the chimeric recombinant proteins CP1 and CP2, bearing repetitions of RP1-RP2 and RP1-RP2-RP5, respectively. The diagnostic performances of these Ags were assessed for discrimination efficiency by the formula +OD/cutoff value (where +OD is the mean optical density value of the positive serum samples tested), in comparison with each other either alone, in mixtures, or as peptide-fused chimeras and with total parasite homogenate (TPH). The discrimination efficiency values obtained for CP1 and CP2 were 25% and 52% higher, respectively, than those of their individual-Ag mixtures. CP2 was the only Ag that showed enhanced discrimination efficiency between Chagas' disease-positive and -negative samples, compared with TPH. This study highlights the convenience of performing immunochemical assays using hybrid, single-molecule, chimeric Ags instead of peptide mixtures. CP2 preliminary tests rendered 98.6% sensitivity when evaluated with a 141-Chagas' disease-positive serum sample panel and 99.4% specificity when assessed with a 164-Chagas' disease-negative serum sample panel containing 15 samples from individuals infected with Leishmania spp.

Design, construction, and evaluation of a specific chimeric antigen to diagnose chagasic infection.

Chagas' disease is routinely diagnosed by detecting specific antibodies (Abs) using serological methods. The methodology has the drawback of potential cross-reactions with Abs raised during other infectious and autoimmune diseases (AID). Fusion of DNA sequences encoding antigenic proteins is a versatile tool to engineer proteins to be used as sensitizing elements in serological tests. A synthetic gene encoding a chimeric protein containing the C-terminal region of C29 and the N-terminal region of TcP2beta was constructed. A 236-serum panel, composed of 104 reactive and 132 nonreactive sera to Chagas' disease, was used to evaluate the performance of the chimera. Among the nonreactive sera, 65 were from patients with AID (systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis) or patients infected with Leishmania brasiliensis, Brucella abortus, Streptococcus pyogenes, or Toxoplasma gondii. The diagnostic performances of the complete TcP2beta (TcP2betaFL) and its N-terminal region (TcP2betaN) were evaluated. TcP2betaFL showed unspecific recognition toward leishmaniasis (40%) and AID Abs (58%), while TcP2betaN showed no unspecific recognition. The diagnostic utility of the chimera was evaluated by analyzing reactivity and comparing the results with those obtained with TcP2betaN. The chimera reactivity was higher than that of the peptide fractions (0.874 versus 0.564 optical density, P = 0.0017). The detectability and specificity were both 100% for the whole serum panel tested. We conclude that the obtained chimera shows an improved selectivity and sensitivity compared with other ones previously reported, therefore displaying an optimized performance for Trypanosoma cruzi infection diagnosis.

Amperometric bioelectrode for specific human immunoglobulin G determination: optimization of the method to diagnose American trypanosomiasis.

Bioelectrodes to detect immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies occurring in sera of patients suffering from American trypanosomiasis were assembled. The device consisted of a gold electrode modified with a thiol sensitized with parasite proteins. The assemblage was accomplished by adsorbing IgG antibodies from confirmed infected patients followed by adsorption of anti-human IgG labeled with a redox enzyme. The appliance was used as a working electrode in a three-electrode cell containing a soluble charge-transfer mediator, also behaving as enzyme cosubstrate. The method is based on the measurement of the catalytic current after addition of the enzyme substrate, occurring when a positive serum is used to build up the biosensor. The discrimination efficiency between positive and negative sera was 100% for the samples studied. A 0.9525 correlation coefficient was obtained for results acquired by using this approach and one commercial diagnostic kit. The reproducibility, evaluated by the percentage coefficient of variation, varied between 7 and 20%. The sensitivity was 12.4 ng mL(-1) IgG, which is in the same order as that obtained with the commercial kit. Stability of the device was studied for a 7-day period and the results showed no significant change (p = 0.218). Leishmaniasic sera showed cross-reactivity when total parasite homogenate was used as antigen.