Development and evaluation of a sensitive PCR-ELISA system for detection of schistosoma infection in feces.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A PCR-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR-ELISA) was developed to overcome the need for sensitive techniques for the efficient diagnosis of Schistosoma infection in endemic settings with low parasitic burden.

Methodology/principal findings

This system amplifies a 121-base pair tandem repeat DNA sequence, immobilizes the resultant 5' biotinylated product on streptavidin-coated strip-well microplates and uses anti-fluorescein antibodies conjugated to horseradish peroxidase to detect the hybridized fluorescein-labeled oligonucleotide probe. The detection limit of the Schistosoma PCR-ELISA system was determined to be 1.3 fg of S. mansoni genomic DNA (less than the amount found in a single cell) and estimated to be 0.15 S. mansoni eggs per gram of feces (fractions o

SUBMITTER: Gomes LI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2857640 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature