Abstract
Toxocariasis is a worldwide zoonotic disease caused by the ascarid nematode Toxocara canis. The most common method available for serodiagnosis of toxocariasis is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test using Toxocara excretory-secretory antigen (TES). The present study describes the development of IgG-ELISA based on antiserum prepared against the recombinant arginine kinase of Toxocara canis. Antiserum was prepared against the purified recombinant arginine kinase (AK) using 6-week-old female Japanese white rabbits. Serum samples were collected from experimentally infected BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice at different time periods. The IgG-ELISA was performed using serum samples from mice (infected/uninfected) and TES antigen with antiserum prepared against the recombinant-AK. The optical density (OD450) was measured at 450 nm using a micro-plate ELISA reader. There were significant differences (P < 0.01) in the absorbance between infected and control serum samples. Further, we obtained 100% sensitivity for the serum samples from T. canis-infected mice. Therefore, it is suggested that the recombinant-AK based IgG-ELISA could be applied for immunodiagnosis of human toxocariasis. However, it is necessary to evaluate the specificity of this recombinant antigen with similar geohelminth infections.
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We would like to thank Prof. D. Blair of James Cook University for his revision and invaluable comments.
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Wickramasinghe, S., Yatawara, L., Nagataki, M. et al. Development of a highly sensitive IgG-ELISA based on recombinant arginine kinase of Toxocara canis for serodiagnosis of visceral larva migrans in the murine model. Parasitol Res 103, 853–858 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1067-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1067-4