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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, September 2003, p. 793-796, Vol. 10, No. 5
1071-412X/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.10.5.793-796.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Laboratoire de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Centre National de Référence des Trichinella Hôpital Cochin, Université R. Descartes, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 75014 Paris,1 UMR BIPAR INRA AFSSA ENVA UPVM, Maisons Alfort 94700,2 LDBIO Diagnostics, 69009 Lyon, France3
Received 11 February 2003/ Returned for modification 21 March 2003/ Accepted 13 May 2003
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Many antibody assay techniques have been developed (e.g., indirect immunofluorescence [IIF] and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]), as reviewed by Gomez-Priego et al. (15). However, while these techniques are sensitive, they are also subject to cross-reactions that make the interpretation of weakly positive results difficult. Indeed, such faint reactions can correspond to several clinical situations, such as recently acquired trichinellosis, cross-reaction with parasites other than Trichinella spp., and interference by autoantibodies. In a national survey involving all medical parasitology departments in metropolitan France, 136 of the 4,700 sera tested were found positive by ELISA or IIF, but only 42 corresponded to real cases of trichinellosis (13). Several investigators have reported the usefulness of Western blot analysis for investigating such cross-reactions (9, 30), but no industrial kit was available until recently. The present study describes the development and specificity of industrially produced Western blot strips made with crude Trichinella antigens.
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Sera used to assess cross-reactivity were selected from 11 healthy individuals and 51 patients with other proven parasitic diseases confirmed by blood smears, stool examinations, positive specific serologic or histologic test results, echography, or CT scanning: Taenia solium neurocysticercosis (5 patients), schistosomiasis (7 patients with Schistosoma mansoni infection), fascioliasis (5 patients), filariasis (6 patients), hydatidosis (3 patients), strongyloidosis (4 patients), toxocariasis (11 patients), liver amebiasis (2 patients), anisakiasis (4 patients), toxoplasmosis (2 patients), and malaria (2 patients). Twenty-three sera from patients with autoimmune diseases were used to assess the risk of nonspecific reactions related to systemic disorders, including anti-mitochondrial type 2 antibodies (1 case), anti-stomach cell antibodies (2 cases), rheumatoid factor (10 cases), and antinuclear antibodies (10 cases). All sera were stored at -20°C until use.
ELISA. All sera (cases and controls) were tested for anti-Trichinella antibodies (immunoglobulin G) by using a commercial ELISA based on excretory or secretory (ES) antigens of Trichinella muscle larvae and peroxidase-labeled protein A (ELISA Trichinella; Biotrin International, Lyon, France). A test was considered positive when the optical density value exceeded 0.3. Negative, low-positive, and high-positive controls included in the kit were tested at each assay. The negative control was from healthy individuals, and the positive controls were from infected rabbits.
Antigens. Western blot antigens were obtained from purified larvae collected after HCl-pepsin digestion of T. spiralis-infected mouse muscle. The strain (MFEL/FR/93/ISS406) was obtained from a cat infected during a horse meat-related outbreak which occurred in France in 1993. Larvae were washed three times in phosphate-buffered saline and then resuspended in Tris-EDTA buffer, containing 0.25 M sucrose, 1 mM EDTA, 40 mM Tris, and protease inhibitors (leupeptin, 0.5 µg/ml; phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 170 µg/ml; and pepstatin 0.7 µg/ml). The suspension was homogenized at 4°C for 1 h, submitted to three cycles of thawing and freezing in liquid nitrogen, and sonicated (six times for 1 min each time). The crude extract was centrifuged at 100,000 x g for 1 h, and the supernatant was filtered (0.22-µm-pore size) and stored at -80°C. Protein content was quantified with a bicinchoninic acid-based method.
Immunoblotting. The antigens were delivered to LDBIO Diagnostics (Lyon, France), which produced the Western blot strips. Briefly, a 50-µg antigen solution was electrophoresed in 13% acrylamide slab gels with the discontinuous sodium dodecyl sulfate buffer system described by Laemmli (20), with slight modifications. A mixture of biotinylated and prestained proteins (myosin, ß-galactosidase, phosphorylase b, bovine serum albumin, ovalbumin, carbonic anhydrase, trypsin inhibitor, lysozyme, and aprotinin) obtained from Bio-Rad Laboratories (Hercules, Calif.) was used as a molecular weight standard. The gels were run until the 30-kDa trypsin inhibitor (prestained blue) reached the bottom of the gels. Proteins were then transferred to nitrocellulose sheets as described by Towbin et al. (31), with slight modifications. The nitrocellulose sheets were coated with Tris-NaCl (pH 7.4) containing 5% nonfat milk. The blots were washed twice with Tris-NaCl, dried, and cut into 4-mm-wide strips.
The Western blot assay was performed with the strips and reagents provided with the kit according to the manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, the strips were incubated with sera diluted 1:50 in Tris-NaCl sample buffer for 90 min. After a washing step with Tris-NaCl washing buffer, the strips were incubated with an anti-human immunoglobulin G- alkaline phosphatase conjugate for 60 min. After another washing step, the protein fractions recognized by the sera were revealed by the corresponding substrate-chromogenic solution containing nitroblue tetrazolium and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate. The reaction was stopped by washing the strips with distilled water. The strips were dried and glued to paper for reading and storage. Positive and negative controls were tested in each assay.
Repeatability, reproducibility, and interference. Repeatability and reproducibility were assessed by testing three times in the same assay four sera (three positive and one negative) with the same reagent, by testing the same four sera in four different assays with the same reagent, and by testing two times in the same assay eight sera (six positive and two negative) with reagents from two different batches. Interference was analyzed by testing sera containing hemoglobin (n = 2), lipids (n = 2), or bilirubin (n = 2).
Statistical analysis.
The 95% confidence limits (CL) of the proportion of positive results and the specificity of the test were calculated by a simplified method: CL = {1.96 x
[Pu x (1 - Pu)]}/sample population; in this situation, Pu is the proportion of positive results or the specificity of the test).
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View this table: [in a new window] |
TABLE 1. Frequencies of different antigenic fractions reacting with sera from patients with Trichinella infections and other health disorders
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FIG. 1. Western blot profiles obtained with sera from patients infected by various species of Trichinella: lanes 1 and 2, T. spiralis; lanes 3 and 4, T. nelsoni; lane 5, T. nativa; lanes 6 and 7, T. pseudospiralis; lanes 8 and 9, T. murrelli; and lanes 10 and 11, T. britovi.
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Nine sera were collected early in the course of the infection from patients with clinical signs of trichinellosis but with a negative ELISA result. The diagnosis of trichinellosis was confirmed by subsequent positive results in serologic tests performed a few days later. For four of these patients, Western blotting of early sera yielded the 43- to 44-kDa and 64-kDa bands, thus allowing an earlier serologic diagnosis than with the ELISA.
The ELISA yielded no false-positive results with the negative controls, but 4.3% (95% CL, 0 to 12.6%) and 39.2% (95% CL, 25.8 to 52.6) false-positive results were observed with sera from patients with autoimmune disorders and other parasitoses, respectively. The global specificity of the ELISA was 75.3% (95% CL, 66.2 to 84.4). The repeatability and reproducibility of Western blotting were perfect. In addition, no interference was observed with hemoglobin, bilirubin, or lipids.
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Most authors consider that the major antigenic fraction of Trichinella (TSL1) has a molecular mass of 45 kDa (8, 10, 17), and the 43- to 44-kDa doublet identified in our study could well correspond to this fraction. We chose as a specific profile the 43- to 44-kDa doublet associated with the 64-kDa band, as it was observed in 100% of the 51 patients with acute trichinellosis, in 4 out of 9 patients at the early stages of the disease, and in only 1 (1%) of 85 control subjects; this control subject had suspected anisakiasis. On the basis of the results shown in Table 1, one should consider why we did not choose only the 44-kDa band as a sole criterion, as this band resulted in only one false-positive reaction, whereas the 43- and 64-kDa bands resulted in four false-positive reactions. Distinguishing the 44-kDa band from the 43-kDa band was sometimes difficult (particularly when there was a high titer of antibodies); therefore, recognizing a doublet was easier. We added to the pattern the 64-kDa band because it was present in all samples from confirmed cases, because it did not decrease the specificity, and because we predicted that adding a third band could decrease the risk of false-positive results. In contrast, the ELISA based on ES antigens was positive for 21 of the 85 control subjects (24.7%; 95% CL, 15.6 to 33.8). Therefore, as previously reported by others, the performance of commercial ELISA kits should be improved by the use of purified antigens (8, 18, 22).
Cross-reactive antigens from different species of helminths have been known since the initial studies of Capron et al. (6) and explain the similar antigenic bands observed in our study with sera from patients infected by different helminth species (Table 1). More specifically, shared antigens have been described for Trichinella and several other parasitic worms, including nematodes (Trichuris spp.) and trematodes (Fasciola hepatica and Schistosoma mansoni or S. mekongi) (4, 7, 18, 21, 29). Mahannop et al. (23) reported cross-reactions of crude antigens prepared from T. spiralis larvae with sera from patients with capillariasis, gnathostomiasis, opisthorchiasis, strongyloidiasis, and hookworm infection. Cross-reactions have also been observed with sera from patients with angiostrongyliasis (25). Linder et al. (21) reported that anti-gp50 monoclonal antibodies against schistosomes and anti-gp50-positive sera from patients with schistosomiasis reacted with hypodermis and Trichinella stichocytes. However, in our study with sera from other parasitoses, only one patient, with suspected anisakiasis (chronic abdominal pain, notion of ingestion of undercooked fish, and IIF positivity with frozen Anisakis sections), exhibited the 43- to 44-kDa doublet and the 64-kDa band. However, a muscle biopsy, which could have confirmed the diagnosis of trichinellosis, was not performed for ethical reasons. Of note, this patient developed primary biliary cirrhosis a few months later. Bands were also detected with sera from patients with autoimmune disorders (anti-DNA antibodies or rheumatoid factor). Such false-positive results in serologic tests for Trichinella in patients with connective tissue diseases have already been reported (30). However, none of the patients with autoimmune disorders displayed both the 43- to 44-kDa doublet and the 64-kDa band. In contrast, both bands were found in all of the Trichinella-infected patients, regardless of the Trichinella species involved. Other bands showed slight species differences, but these bands could not be considered species specific, owing to the small number of sera tested.
The genus Trichinella is now composed of 11 species or genotypes, namely, T. spiralis, T. nativa, T. britovi, T. pseudospiralis, T. murrelli, T. nelsoni, T6, T8, T9, T. papuae, and T. zimbabwensis. None of our samples was from patients infected by the latter five species or genotypes, which have never been isolated from humans and are localized to very small areas. Dupouy-Camet et al. (10) and other investigators have observed differences in Western blot profiles of sera from humans and animals infected by the same species. Pozio et al. (27) described antigenic differences between T. britovi and T. spiralis assessed with human sera. Bolas-Fernandez and Wakelin (5) found differences in T. spiralis, T. pseudospiralis, and T. murrelli by using mouse sera. However, Kapel et al. tested sera from pigs infected by T. spiralis, T. nativa, and T. britovi and did not find any such differences (19). Additional work is needed in order to identify from Western blot patterns the species involved in an infection. Finally, it is important to note that the Western blot kit tested here detected specific anti-Trichinella antibodies in patients who had recently been infected before an ELISA based on ES antigens.
In conclusion, Western blotting is a useful tool for the differential diagnosis of trichinellosis, a disease that necessitates specific treatment. It can be used to investigate ELISA and IIF cross-reactions, which can be observed with certain connective tissue diseases or helminth infections that can mimic the clinical manifestations of trichinellosis. Importantly, compared to the ELISA, Western blotting could be suitable for early diagnosis, thus allowing early treatment, which is known to reduce the complications of trichinellosis (11). The kit tested here is now commercially available, and its sensitivity and specificity have been compared with those of other serologic methods (3). The value of this kit during outbreaks remains to be determined.
This work was supported by ADERMEPT and the Centre National de Référence des Trichinella.
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