Identification of two nonglycosylated polypeptides of Taenia solium recognized by immunoglobulins from patients with neurocysticercosis.

An immunoprecipitation technique using biotin-labeled proteins of Taenia solium was developed to identify antigens recognized by immunoglobulins from patients with neurocysticercosis. Six major polypeptides of 100, 70, 50, 42, 35, and 24 kDa were recognized by cerebrospinal fluid from most serologically positive patients. All polypeptides except the 70- and 35-kDa antigens were retained on a lentil-lectin chromatography column and were recognized by lentil lectin in an overlay assay. The 70- and 35-kDa antigens were not labeled with biotin hydrazide, indicating that saccharide residues are not present in these two polypeptides. Furthermore, the 70- and 35-kDa antigens were recognized by antibodies of more than 86% of patients serologically positive for neurocysticercosis as opposed to none of the patients afflicted with other neuropathologies of the central nervous system. This finding indicates that immunodiagnosis of neurocysticercosis can be carried out with antigens different from those used in the standard enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer assay.