Serodiagnosis of invasive amebiasis using a recombinant Entamoeba histolytica antigen-based ELISA
Myung, K.; Burch, D.; Jackson, T.F.; Stanley, S.L.
Archives of Medical Research 23(2): 285-288
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 0188-4409 PMID: 1340316 Document Number: 388485
A recombinant serine rich-Entamoeba histolytica-protein/maltose binding protein (SREHP/MBP) fusion protein was evaluated as the target antigen in an ELISA to detect acute invasive amoebiasis. Retrospective analysis of 65 serum samples from patients with amoebic liver abscess and 40 asymptomatic control patients showed the SREHP/MBP ELISA had a sensitivity of 74% and specificity of only 55% for the diagnosis of amoebic liver abscess. This study was repeated using a purified recombinant SREHP cleaved from the MBP component. The purified recombinant SREHP-based ELISA had a sensitivity of 79% and specificity of 87%. The data suggest a purified recombinant SREHP-based ELISA could prove useful in the diagnosis of acute invasive amoebiasis.