Cysticercosis: immunidiagnosis, antigens, immune response, clinical and epidemiologic aspects

• Grant number: 02/12061-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Duration: July 01, 2003 - March 31, 2007
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology - Applied Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Adelaide José Vaz
• Grantee: Adelaide José Vaz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: José Antonio Livramento

Abstract

Neurocysticercosis (NC), a disease caused by the presence of the larval form of Taenia solium in the central nervous system and by host-parasite interactions, is the most extensively studied form of human cysticercosis due to its severe symptoms and high mortality and morbidity incidences. The disease prevalence is variable and is mainly related to socioeconomic and cultural factors, with NC representing an important public health problem in countries with deficient sanitary conditions, as well as in industrialized countries containing immigrants from regions where the teniasis-cysticercosis complex is endemic. The diagnosis of NC is based on the combination of clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data. Immunodiagnosis methods, especially enzyme immunoassays using different cysticercus antigen preparations, represent an efficient diagnostic tool with affordable cost that can be applied to diagnose NC and to epidemiological studies. Obtaining recombinant antigens and synthetic peptides may provide new source of antigens and also improve the efficacy of these diagnosis test patterns by directly interfering with their sensitivity and specificity rates, especially when theses tests are applied in human and swine sera samples. Ongoing areas of NC investigation include studies on the humoral and cellular immune response mechanisms involved in the immuno-biological phenomena of the host-parasite relationship during the cysticercus different evolution phases and the validation of immuno-diagnosis methods. This can be conducted by using easily obtainable sera and antigens that can be purified to homogeneity, and specificity in sufficient amounts for large-scale use. Aiming to better understand the immuno-biological phenomena of the host-parasite relationship and to contribute to clarify mechanisms related to the different evolution phases of this pathology, the objectives of this project are the following: To study the aspects related to clinical and laboratory diagnosis, aspects of the cell and humoral immune responses involved in this complex host-parasite relationship, as well as to continue the immuno-chemical studies on the antigen fractions obtained in our previous studies. The strategies for reaching our objectives in the present study are: Producing and characterizing monoclonal antibodies; obtaining and using excretory/secretory, purified and recombinant antigens from T. crassiceps and T. solium cysticerci, and synthetic peptides; improving, standardizing and applying immunoassays for detecting antigens and antibodies in samples from NC patients, as well as in samples from experimentally infected mice, and cysticercosis infected swine samples. We will also correlate results analyzing clinical signs and symptoms, the location of the parasite(s) (close to the meninges, in the parenchyma or in the CSF/sub-arachnoid space) and its evolution phase (intact vesicles, degenerating, degenerated and calcified). To analyze lhe systemic and local (CNS) humoral and cellular immune response we will be verifying the production of antibodies and the releasing of antigens, identifying the defense cells, as well as the production of cytokines in serum and in CSF samples from NC patients. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ANDRÉIA BARTACHINI GOMES; KILLARNEY ATAÍDE SOARES; EDNÉIA CASAGRANDE BUENO; NOELI MARIA ESPINDOLA; ALBERTO HIROSHI IHA; ANTÔNIO AUGUSTO MENDES MAIA; REGINA HELENA SARAMARGO PERALTA; ADELAIDE JOSÉ VAZ. Comparative evaluation of different immunoassays for the detection of Taenia solium cysticercosis in swine with low parasite burden. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, v. 102, n. 6, p. 725-731, 2007-08-16. (02/12061-0)

PERALTA, REGINA H.; ESPINDOLA, NOELI M.; PARDINI, ALESSANDRA X.; IHA, ALBERTO H.; MOURA, HERCULES; BARR, JOHN R.; VAZ, ADELAIDE J.; PERALTA, JOSE M.. Taenia crassiceps cysticerci: Characterization of the 14-kDa glycoprotein with homologies to antigens from Taenia solium cysticerci. Experimental Parasitology, v. 124, n. 3, p. 295-300, MAR 2010. (02/12061-0)

MARIA M.I. ISHIDA; REGINA HELENA S. PERALTA; JOSÉ. A. LIVRAMENTO; SUMIE HOSHINO-SHIMIZU; JOSÉ M. PERALTA; ADELAIDE J. VAZ. Sorodiagnóstico da neurocisticercose em pacientes com crises epiléticas, por meio de ELISA e immunoblot. Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, v. 48, n. 6, p. 343-346, 2006-12-00. (02/12061-0)

DA SILVA, MARCIA R. M.; UYHARA, CIBELE N. S.; SILVA, FLAVIO H.; ESPINDOLA, NOELI M.; POLETI, MIRELE D.; VAZ, ADELAIDE J.; MEIRELLES, FLAVIO V.; MAIA, ANTONIO A. M.. Cysticercosis in experimentally and naturally infected pigs: Parasitological and immunological diagnosis. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira, v. 32, n. 4, p. 297-302, APR 2012. (02/12061-0)

DA SILVA‚ M.R.M.; MAIA‚ A.A.M.; ESPÍNDOLA‚ N.M.; MACHADO‚ L.R.; VAZ‚ A.J.; HENRIQUE-SILVA‚ F.. Recombinant expression of Taenia solium TS14 antigen and its utilization for immunodiagnosis of neurocysticercosis. Acta Tropica, v. 100, n. 3, p. 192-198, 2006. (02/12061-0, 98/14138-2)