Use of delipidized antigens of Taenia solium metacestodes in IgG-ELISA for detection of neurocysticercosis

Abstract

The development of IgG-ELISA for detecting neurocysticercosis is aimed at the routine laboratory, and requires a particular antigen preparation, an acceptable number of serum samples to be tested (both homologous and heterologous) and patients with a diversity of helminthic infections to rule out cross-reactions. This study characterizes IgG-antibodies from cases of neurocysticercosis by assaying the sera against ether-delipidized antigens (5 μg/ml) prepared from metacestodes of Taenia solium. The test had a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 83%. IgG-antibodies from heterologous serum samples elicited a number of false positives (25/147) from six different helminthic infections, ie paragonimiasis, echinococcosis, opisthorchiasis, ascariasis, taeniasis and fascioliasis. In additional tests to detect antibody levels to these stage-related antigens, one of three serum samples from T. solium-infected cases gave negative at OD value of 0 187 while the others yielded 0.472 and 0.576. Conversely, assays of all serum samples from neurocysticercosis cases reacted against antigens from Echinococcus granulosus cystic fluid, Paragonimus heterotremus and Opisthorchis viverrini adult worms. In comparison, the antigens from these three species yielded higher mean OD values when assayed against the corresponding infected serum samples. Furthermore, neurocysticercosis cases yielded OD values that are separate and distinct from those of paragonimiasis cases.