Chagas' disease: humoral response to subcellular fraction of Trypanosoma cruzi in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients
de Titto, E.H.; Moreno, M.; Braun, M.; Segura, E.L.
Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Official Organ of Deutsche Tropenmedizinische Gesellschaft and of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit 38(3): 163-166
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0177-2392 PMID: 3124252 Document Number: 299158
Sera of 104 patients with Chagas' disease were tested in the ELISA with different subcellular fractions of T. cruzi as antigens. Each fraction was able to bind specific antibodies and to differentiate between infected individuals and controls. The results with flagellar (F) and cell sap (CS) fractions were similar in all groups of patients but the microsomal (Mc) fraction gave significantly higher readings in sera of patients with overt heart disease than with sera of asymptomatic patients and the levels of anti-Mc antibodies were significantly higher in patients aged < 30 years than in older patients. The reactivity against each fraction was arranged from highest to lowest for each patient and these profiles were consistently predominant within the different groups of patients. 68% of the asymptomatic patients presented higher activity against CS, 24% against Mc and 7% against F fraction. In contrast, 68% of patients with overt heart disease showed higher activity against the cs fraction, 21% against the F fraction and 10% against the Mc fraction. The profiles of patients with normal chest X-rays and minimal ECG abnormalities were too heterogenous to define a preferred reactivity pattern.