Article
Chagas disease-specific antigens: characterization of epitopes in CRA/FRA by synthetic peptide mapping and evaluation by ELISA-peptide assay
Registro en:
BOTTINO, Carolina G.; et al. Chagas disease-specific antigens: characterization of epitopes in CRA/FRA by synthetic peptide mapping and evaluation by ELISA-peptide assay. BMC Infectious Diseases, v.13:568, 10p, 2013.
10.1186/1471-2334-13-568
Autor
Bottino, Carolina G.
Gomes, Luciano Pinho
Pereira, José B.
Coura, José Rodrigues
Provance Jr., David William
De Simone, Salvatore Giovanni
Resumen
Background: The identification of epitopes in proteins recognized by medically relevant antibodies is useful for the
development of peptide-based diagnostics and vaccines. In this study, epitopes in the cytoplasmic repetitive antigen
(CRA) and flagellar repetitive antigen (FRA) proteins from Trypanosoma cruzi were identified using synthetic peptide
techniques and pooled sera from Chagasic patients. The epitopes were further assayed with an ELISA assay based on
synthetic peptides.
Methods: Twenty-two overlapping synthetic peptides representing the coding sequence of the T. cruzi CRA and FRA
proteins were assessed by a Spot-synthesis array analysis using sera donated by patients with Chagas disease. Shorter
peptides were selected that represented the determined epitopes and synthesized by solid phase synthesis to evaluate
the patterns of cross-reactivities and discrimination through an ELISA-diagnostic assay.
Results: The peptide Spot-synthesis array successfully identified two IgG antigenic determinants in the CRA protein
and four in FRA. Bioinformatics suggested that the CRA antigens were unique to T. cruzi while the FRA antigen
showed similarity with sequences present within various proteins from Leishmania sp. Subsequently, shorter
peptides representing the CRA-1, CRA-2 and FRA-1 epitopes were synthesized by solid phase synthesis and assayed
by an ELISA-diagnostic assay. The CRA antigens gave a high discrimination between Chagasic, Leishmaniasis and
T. cruzi-uninfected serum. A sensitivity and specificity of 100% was calculated for CRA. While the FRA antigen showed
a slightly lower sensitivity (91.6%), its specificity was only 60%.
Conclusions: The epitopes recognized by human anti-T. cruzi antibodies have been precisely located in two biomarkers
of T. cruzi, CRA and FRA. The results from screening a panel of patient sera through an ELISA assay based on peptides
representing these epitopes strongly suggest that the sequences from CRA would be useful for the development of
diagnostic reagents that could improve upon the sensitivity and specificity of currently available diagnostic tests.
Overall, the results provide further evidence of the usefulness of identifying specific linear B-cell epitopes for improving
diagnostic tools.