Diagnostic value of hydatid cyst antigens using western blotting method
Journal Title: Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology - Year 2010, Vol 3, Issue 4
Abstract
Introduction and objective: Hydatidosis is one of the most important and commonly found parasitic zoonoses in both humans and different animals, which is caused by the cestode helminthes Echinococcus granulosus. The diagnosis of the disease is primarily based on imagery techniques. Thus, highly sensitive and reliable serologic methods are required to confirm the diagnosis. AntigenB (AgB) and protoscoleces antigen (PSC Ag) were purified as two specific parasitic antigens and then evaluated against sera from two groups of hydatidosis and non-hydatidosis (control) subjects using the western blotting method in order to identify the most sensitive and specific antigen. Materials and methods: Sera samples were taken from 22 patients under operation for hydatid cyst. 16 patients were also included as control group. Cyst fluid and protoscoleces were extracted and partially purified in a protein A column. Using SDS-PAGE, subunits of the cyst fluid antigen, AgB, and PSC Ag were identified. Finally, the subunits were transferred from gel to nitrocellulose membrane in a western blot test and reacted with hydatid and control sera in order to assess their sensitivity and specifity. Results: Three antigens were identified as the subunits of AgB while 10 antigens were identified as PSC Ag. The sensitivity and specifity of AgB subunits in the western blot test were 77% and 100%, respectively. None of the PSC Ag subunits had both high sensitivity and high specifity concurrently. Conclusion: It has been shown by the western blot test that the AgB 8/12 and 16 KDa subunit components had high diagnostic sensitivity and specifity levels (81% and 100%, respectively) and that they could presumably assist the physician in his pre- and post-operation diagnosis of hydatid cysts.
Authors and Affiliations
Behzad Haghpanah, Badrossadat Mosavat, Zahra Ghayour, Farzad Oreizi
A study of the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection in HIV positive individuals in Mashhad, Northeast Iran
Introduction and objective: Intestinal parasitic infection is an important problem in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of intestinal parasi...
Epidemiologic study of onychomycosis and tinea pedis in Kashan, Iran
Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of nails that caused by several dermatophytes and saprophytes (yeasts and moulds). In addition, tinea pedis is a fungal infection of feet due to dermatophytes. Due to the importance of...
Molecular epidemiology of Echinococcus granulosus strains in domestic herbivores of Lorestan, Iran
Introduction and objective: Hydatidosis is one of the most important common zoonosis diseases in most parts of the world. This parasite causes many damages to animal husbandry. Several strains of this parasite have been...
Evaluation of antimicrobial substance produced by a bacterium isolated from Parmacella iberica
Introduction and objective: Nowadays, widespread application of antibiotics results in resistant microorganisms all over the world. Thus screening researches for the products with antimicrobial activity have been lead to...
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus genotypes in chronic infected patients, southern Iran
Introduction and objective: Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepato-cellular carcinoma. Since response to anti-viral therapy in sufferers depends on HCV genotypes, determin...