Produção das protéinas recombinantes do envelope de Dengue virus e detecção de anticorpos específicos na população de Belo Horizonte, MG

Abstract

Dengue is the most prevalent aboviruse of the world mainly in tropical regions. The disease is endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, threatening more than 2.5 billion people. The World Health Organization estimates that there may be 50 million to 100 million cases of Dengue virus (DENV) infections worldwide every year. As the clinical manifestations are frequently undifferentiated febrile illness, laboratory diagnosis is essential for confirmation of DENV infections. The method based on specific antibody identification is an easy and reliable tool for dengue fever diagnosis. Antibody response against virus envelop glycoprotein (E) is known to play a role in protective immunity and infection enhancement, especially after a primary infection. The objective of this study is to produce the four recombinant DENV serotypes envelop glycoprotein in Escherichia coli system and use them for the development of IgG-ELISA. To evaluate the IgG-ELISA, a panel of serum samples already tested by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), gold standard serological assay for dengue infection, was investigated for the presence of antibodies anti-E against the four DENV serotypes. The results of PRNT and IgG-ELISA from 704 serum samples collected from citizens of Belo Horizonte (MG) were compared and 91% of sensibility and 98% of specificity were observed. These data show that the IgG-ELISA based on recombinant E protein has proved to be a very efficient assay for anti-DENV IgG detection and a useful tool in epidemiologic studies.