Detection and characterization of antigens in urine of patients with acute, congenital, and chronic Chagas' disease.

Monoclonal antibodies raised against purified Trypanosoma cruzi urinary antigens were used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) capture test for parasite antigens present in urine specimens of Argentinean and Brazilian patients with Chagas' disease. At diagnosis, antigenuria was demonstrated by ELISA in all acutely and congenitally infected infants studied. Moreover, T. cruzi urinary antigens were detected in samples from three of five patients with acute infections and four of five patients with congenital infections following chemotherapy. At least one ELISA-positive urine specimen from each individual was recorded in a longitudinal survey of 12 chronic chagasic patients. The same parasitic antigens (90 to 80 kDa, pI 5.7 to 6.0; 70 to 65 kDa, pI 4.9 to 4.5; 50 to 45 kDa, pI 5.3 to 5.1; and 40 to 35 kDa, pI 4.8 to 4.5) were identified by immunoprecipitation and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of urine samples from patients with different forms of chagasic infection. The 90- to 80-kDa urinary protein resembles a trypomastigote-shed antigen. Determination of antigenuria proved valuable for early diagnosis of Chagas' disease and also for diagnosis of chronic cases with conflicting serology.