Use of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that utilizes the Tc13Tul antigen of Trypanosoma cruzi to monitor patients after treatment with benznidazole

SANTAMARIA, AL; DE RISSIO, AM; RIARTE, A; GARAVAGLIA, PA; BRUBALLA, AC; RODRIGUEZ, MA; IRAZU, LE; RUIZ, AM; GARCIA, GA

DIAGNOSTIC MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2013 vol. 76 p. 197 - 205

0732-8893

Tc13Tul antigen is expressed in the mammalian stages of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas? disease. Here, we designed and validated an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the recombinant Tc13Tul (Tc13Tul-ELISA) and found that it had 82.5% sensitivity and 97.05% of specificity. To evaluate whether the decrease in antibodies against Tc13Tul may be used as an early marker of the effect of chemotherapy with benznidazole, sera from 30 T. cruzi-infected children were evaluated by Tc13Tul-ELISA before and after benznidazole treatment. While in Group A (6 months-4 years old, n = 16) the decrease of more than 30% of Tc13Tul-ELISA values showed a sensitivity similar to that of conventional serology (CS); in Group B, (5?12 years old, n = 14) the decrease of Tc13Tul-ELISA values was a better parameter than negativization of CS to monitor the impact of treatment. Therefore, the dosage of anti-Tc13Tul antibodies may be useful as a methodology complementary to CS to evaluate chagasic patients undergoing chemotherapy with benznidazole.