A novel Trypanosoma cruzi secreted antigen as a potential biomarker of Chagas disease.

ABSTRACT: Chagas drug discovery has been hampered by a lack of validated assays to establish treatment efficacy in pre-clinical animal models and in patients infected with T. cruzi. Reduced levels of parasite secreted antigens in the blood of infected hosts could be used to demonstrate treatment efficacy. A published proteomic study of parasite secreted antigens identified the hypothetical protein Tc_5171 as a secreted antigen. In this report, we developed Tc_5171 specific antibodies and showed that the native protein was expressed by the three life cycle stages of the parasite. Anti-peptide antibodies were able to detect the parasite antigen in blood of infected mice during the acute and the chronic phase of infection. Benznidazole treatment of infected mice significantly reduced their blood antige

SUBMITTER: Nagarkatti R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7658208 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature