Lobos E, Altmann M, Mengod G, Weiss N, Rudin W, Karam M
Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel.
Mol Biochem Parasitol. 1990 Feb;39(1):135-45. doi: 10.1016/0166-6851(90)90016-f.
The primary structure of an immunodominant antigen of the filarial parasite, Onchocerca volvulus was deduced from cDNA sequence analysis. Using affinity-purified antibody from onchocerciasis patients from West Africa, we have isolated a cDNA clone from a lambda gt11 cDNA expression library derived from microfilariae-producing female O. volvulus. The open reading frame encodes 152 amino acids, and the deduced sequence predicts a Mr of 16,850 (consistent with the apparent Mr of 18,000 of the immunoprecipitated in vitro translated product). The primary translation product contains a putative signal peptide of 16 amino acids. The mRNA coding for this antigen has an estimated size of 950 nucleotides. Furthermore, immunoelectron microscopy established that the antigen encoded by this clone is present in the hypodermis, the cuticle, and in the uterus of the filarial worms. Since this antigen is recognized exclusively by sera from onchocerciasis patients, and not by other sera from patients infected by other filarial parasites, it may prove to be an especially valuable tool for improving the specific diagnosis of onchocerciasis.
通过cDNA序列分析推导了丝虫寄生虫盘尾丝虫免疫显性抗原的一级结构。利用从西非盘尾丝虫病患者中亲和纯化的抗体，我们从来自产微丝蚴的雌性盘尾丝虫的λgt11 cDNA表达文库中分离出一个cDNA克隆。开放阅读框编码152个氨基酸，推导的序列预测分子量为16,850（与体外翻译的免疫沉淀产物的表观分子量18,000一致）。初级翻译产物包含一个16个氨基酸的推定信号肽。编码该抗原的mRNA估计大小为950个核苷酸。此外，免疫电子显微镜证实该克隆编码的抗原存在于丝虫的皮下组织、角质层和子宫中。由于该抗原仅被盘尾丝虫病患者的血清识别，而不被其他丝虫寄生虫感染患者的其他血清识别，它可能被证明是改善盘尾丝虫病特异性诊断的特别有价值的工具。
