RESUMO
Circulating antigens isolated from sera of three high-microfilaraemic ( Loa loa) Gabonese patients were fractionated by gel filtration. A major component (38 kDa) was identified after SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting using sera of amicrofilaraemic patients with high level of antimicrofilariae Loa loa antibodies. The 38 kDa fraction was not found in the sera of parasitised patients or healthy controls. We looked for the 38 kDa antigen in the various stages of the filarial life cycle and found it in extracts of Loa loa microfilariae but not in somatic extracts of Loa loa male and female adult worms. This fraction could be used as a diagnostic marker in loiasis for amicrofilaraemic patients.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Helmintos/sangue , Loa/imunologia , Loíase/imunologia , Microfilárias/imunologia , Animais , Anticorpos Anti-Helmínticos/sangue , Anticorpos Anti-Helmínticos/imunologia , Eletroforese em Gel de Poliacrilamida , Feminino , Gabão , Humanos , Immunoblotting , Loa/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Loíase/parasitologia , MasculinoRESUMO
Circulating antigens were detected in sera of Gabonese patients with Loa loa filarial infection by co-electrosyneresis (Co-ES). The serum samples selected for this study were exposed to rabbit hyperimmune antifilarial antisera and human immune antisera: specific arcs were observed in 35/60 filarial patients, of whom 24/47 were microfilaraemic and 11/13 amicofilaraemic. The identity of rabbit hyperimmune antisera and loiasial immune sera was confirmed by the continuity of precipitation arcs. These preliminary studies were carried out to develop diagnostic tools for loiasis and to study the physiopathology of immune complexes.