Opisthorchis viverrini: Identification of a glycine-tyrosine rich eggshell protein and its potential as a diagnostic tool for human opisthorchiasis

Jiraporn Ruangsittichai, Vithoon Viyanant, Suksiri Vichasri-Grams, Prasert Sobhon, Smarn Tesana, Edward Suchart Upatham, Annemarie Hofmann, Günter Korge, Rudi Grams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A cDNA encoding a novel eggshell protein (OvESP) with high-glycine (49.2%) and -tyrosine (27.8%) content was cloned from the human liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini. In the adult parasite, the RNA products of the OvESP gene are limited to the vitelline follicles. They have a size of 800 nucleotides and are already present in 2-week-old juveniles. Immune sera of hamsters, experimentally infected, and humans, naturally infected with O. viverrini, detect bacterially expressed recombinant OvESP (rOvESP). A rabbit anti-rOvESP antiserum only reacts with the shells of intrauterine eggs in tissue sections of the parasite. Comparison of rOvESP with the parasite's excretion/secretion products as diagnostic tools for human opisthorchiasis shows a higher sensitivity (0.82-0.48) and specificity (0.97-0.91) of the recombinant protein in the ELISA technique. But the observed weak cross-reactivity of immune sera from mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma mekongi, and Fasciola gigantica in Western blots of rOvESP indicates that the diagnostic quality of this protein might be compromised if infections by other trematodes are present.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1329-1339
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal for Parasitology
Volume36
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Eggshell protein
  • Expression
  • Localization
  • Molecular cloning
  • Opisthorchis viverrini
  • Serodiagnosis
  • Trematode

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