A Multi-Epitope Protein for High-Performance Serodiagnosis of Chronic Chagas Disease in ELISA and Lateral Flow Platforms.
Int J Mol Sci
; 25(18)2024 Sep 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39337297
ABSTRACT
We developed a protein to rapidly and accurately diagnose Chagas disease, a life-threatening illness identified by the WHO as a critical worldwide public health risk. Limitations in present day serological tests are complicating the current health situation and contributing to most infected persons being unaware of their condition and therefore untreated. To improve diagnostic testing, we developed an immunological mimic of the etiological agent, Trypanosoma cruzi, by combining ten pathogen-specific epitopes within the beta-barrel protein structure of Thermal Green Protein. The resulting multi-epitope protein, DxCruziV3, displayed high specificity and sensitivity as the antibody capture reagent in an ELISA platform with an analytical sensitivity that exceeds WHO recommendations. Within an immunochromatographic platform, DxCruziV3 showed excellent performance for the point of application diagnosis in a region endemic for multiple diseases, the municipality of Barcelos in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. In total, 167 individuals were rapidly tested using whole blood from a finger stick. As recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, venous blood samples were laboratory tested by conventional assays for comparison. Test results suggest utilizing DxCruziV3 in different assay platforms can confidently diagnose chronic infections by T. cruzi. Rapid and more accurate results will benefit everyone but will have the most noticeable impact in resource-limited rural areas where the disease is endemic.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Trypanosoma cruzi
/
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
/
Serologic Tests
/
Chagas Disease
/
Epitopes
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
America do sul
/
Brasil
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Country of publication:
Switzerland