Uso de peptídeo sintético selecionado por Phage Display para imunodiagnóstico da neirocisticercose humana

Abstract

In this work a new antigen was selected through Phage Display technique for the immunodiagnosis of the human neurocysticercosis. It is an epitope that imitates a conformational epitope wich is recognized by antibodies in the patients' serum with neurocysticercosis. This antigen was synthesized, purified and its mass was confirmed by mass spectrometry. The produced antigen was evaluated through indirect immunoassay (ELISA) with the patients' serums with neurocysticercosis, normal individuals and individuals bearers of others diseases. The crude Taenia solium cystcercal antigens were used as parameter for comparison. The immunoassay using synthetic peptide and the crude antigen presented sensibility of 92 and 89%, respectively, and both presented specificity of 100%, when the patients' serums with neurocysticercosis and the group controls were used. The immunoassay using the synthetic peptide and the crude antigen presented specificities of 94.5 and 34.2% respectively, when the patients' serums were tested with several infections. This demonstrates that the immunodiagnosis using a synthetic peptide assure hight sensibility and specificity, at low costs. At these results it is possible to conclude that a mimotope was selected with great potential to be used in the immunodiagnosis of the human neurocysticercosis.