Recombinant expression of Taenia solium TS14 antigen and its utilization for immunodiagnosis of neurocysticercosis

In order to evaluate the potential use of TS14 antigen in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for immunodiagnosis of neurocysticercosis (NC), its open reading frame (ORF) was amplified by RT-PCR from mRNA isolated from Taenia solium cysticerci. The ORF was subcloned into the expression vector pET-28a, and was used to transform Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells to produce TS14 antigen. The His-tagged expressed protein was purified on a nickel affinity column. Using the HISTS14 as antigen, ELISA was positive for 100% of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and 97% of serum samples from NC patients. No positive results were observed with sera and CSF samples from control groups. Cross-reactivity with sera from patients with schistosomiasis and Chagas' disease was not observed. Serum samples from patients with taeniasis were evaluated and 2 of 13 cases showed reactivity in this assay. Our data indicate the usefulness of HISTS14 in ELISA for an accurate and rapid assay for diagnosis of NC and seroepidemiological studies.