In:
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, Frontiers Media SA, Vol. 12 ( 2022-9-20)
Abstract:
Louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) caused by B. recurrentis is a poverty-related and neglected infectious disease with an endemic focus in the Horn of Africa. Re-emergence of the disease occurred in Europe during the refugee crisis in 2015 and sporadic outbreaks were frequently reported in Eastern Africa where poor settings lack affordable diagnostics. Currently, there are no validated in vitro assays available for the serodiagnosis of LBRF. The aim of this study was to develop novel and reliable immunoassays by investigating clinically suspected and culture-confirmed serum samples from LBRF patients and a broad panel of serum samples from patients with other spirochetal, bacterial, and parasitic diseases. We identified two immunoreactive antigens (complement-inhibiting protein CihC and the glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase GlpQ of B. recurrentis ) as the most promising target candidates leading to the evaluation of two immunoassays (line immunoblot and ELISA) for IgM and IgG. To optimize the IgM immunoassay, we conducted a bioinformatic approach to localize the relevant immunogenic regions within CihC. By utilizing a N-terminal CihC fragment, the sensitivity and specificity of both immunoassays (CihC and GlpQ) were high (IgM: sensitivity 100%, specificity of 89.9%, IgG: sensitivity 100%, specificity 99.2%). In conclusion, our findings indicate the diagnostic potential of CihC and GlpQ as valuable markers for the serodiagnosis of LBRF even at early time points of infection. Here, we provide strong evidence for the utilization of these immunoassays as reliable tools in clinical practice.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2235-2988
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s001
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s002
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s003
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s004
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s005
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s006
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s007
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s008
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s009
DOI:
10.3389/fcimb.2022.983770.s010
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
Frontiers Media SA
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2619676-1
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