An α-Gal antigenic surrogate as a biomarker of treatment evaluation in < i > Trypanosoma cruzi < /i > -infected children. A retrospective cohort study

by Manuel Abal, Virginia Balouz, Rosana Lopez, M. Eugenia Giorgi, Carla Marino, Cintia V. Cruz, Jaime Altcheh, Carlos A. Buscaglia BackgroundProper evaluation of therapeutic responses in Chagas disease is hampered by the prolonged persistence of antibodies toTrypanosoma cruzi measured by conventional serological tests and by the lack of sensitivity of parasitological tests. Previous studies indicated that tGPI-mucins, an α-Gal (α-d-Galp(1 →3)-β-d-Galp(1 →4)-d-GlcNAc)-rich fraction obtained fromT.cruzi trypomastigotes surface coat, elicit a strong and protective antibody response in infected individuals, which disappears soon after successful treatment. The cost and technical difficulties associated with tGPI-mucins preparation, however, preclude its routine implementation in clinical settings. Methods/principle findingsWe herein developed a neoglycoprotein consisting of a BSA scaffold decorated with several units of a synthetic α-Gal antigenic surrogate (α-d-Galp(1 →3)-β-d-Galp(1 →4)-β-d-Glcp). Serological responses to this reagent, termed NGP-Tri, were monitored by means of an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( α-Gal-ELISA) in a cohort of 82T.cruzi-infected and Benznidazole- or Nifurtimox-treated children (3 days to 16 years-old). This cohort was split into 3 groups based on the age of patients at the time of treatment initiation: Group 1 comprised 24 babies (3 days to 5 months-old; median = 26 days-old), Group 2 comprised 31 children (7 months to 3...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research