Abstract

Human strongyloidiasis is a deleterious gastrointestinal disease mainly caused by Strongyloides stercoralis infection. Strongyloides stercoralis is a soil-transmitted helminthiasis that is distributed around the globe. Although definitive diagnosis is carried out through the detection of parasite objects in human stool samples, the development of reliable immunological assays is an important alternative approach for supportive diagnosis. We characterized the two sensitive and specific bands of S. stercoralis filariform larvae that reacted with human strongyloidiasis sera based on immunoblot analysis. Serum samples obtained from strongyloidiasis patients showed a sensitivity of 90 and 80 % at the approximate molecular mass of 26 and 29-kDa polypeptide bands, respectively. The reactive specificity of the 26-kDa band was 76.5 % while for the 29-kDa band was 92.2 %. Proteomic analysis identified the 26-kDa band protein was 14-3-3 protein zeta, while the 29-kDa band protein was ADP/ATP translocase 4. The results provided a basic framework for further studies regarding the potential of the S. stercoralis recombinant antigen to become a leading to diagnostic tool.