Preliminary study of a prototype fatty acid and retinal binding peptide epitope for Strongyloides stercoralis antibody detection.

CONTEXT: Laboratory diagnosis of strongyloidiasis is most often based on the detection of antibodies against antigens in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

AIMS: The aim of the study was to validate the efficacy of the B-cell epitope peptide antigens of fatty acid and retinal binding protein in using antibodies against Strongyloides stercoralis.

SETTINGS AND

DESIGN

Patient samples were identified by an anonymous code and collected from volunteers at Suranaree University of Technology Hospital, Thailand.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

The synthesized peptides and cell lysate of Strongyloides ratti were used as antigens in an in-house ELISA format. A total of 78 serum samples were collected from patients infected with S. stercoralis, other parasites, and healthy persons.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to assess the diagnostic performance of peptide antigens and analysis of variance was utilized to examine differences in peptide reactivity between groups.

RESULTS

The peptide-1 and cell lysate of S. ratti could clearly differentiate serums among infected and noninfected groups. The peptide-1, peptide-2 of S. stercoralis, and lysate of S. ratti antigen had been measured to reveal sensitivities at about 75.00%, 50.00%, and 75.00% with 75.86%, 86.21%, and 89.66% specificities, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These results could be useful for routine clinical laboratory diagnostic testing and possibly apply for surveillance investigations in the future.