This project seeks to characterize and isolate schistosome-specific worm and egg antigens important for the immunodiagnosis of infection, develop monoclonal antibodies to them, and develop sensitive and immunologically specific optimal high throughput serodiagnostic systems (RIA, ELISA) utilizing state of the art technology. Specially, we seek to define and isolate species- specific and sex-dependent Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium adult worm or egg antigens which are important in inducing an immune response during infection and which can be utilize for the specific immunodiagnosis of infection in experimental animals and humans. In the case of S. mansoni efforts will focus on the egg antigens responsible for the COP reaction and on sex-dependent worm antigens. In the case of S. haematobium efforts will focus on identifying and then isolating a species-specific egg antigen which can then be used to detect infection in humans and experimentally infected hamsters. Once the appropriate antigens are identified they will be isolated by a combination of chromatographies and electrophoresis and then used for the development of monospecific polyclonal (rabbits) and monoclonal (mice) antibodies to be used as epitope probes and in the further isolation and characterization of the target antigens. The ultimate goal is to develop high throughput serologic systems such as ELISA and RIA with antigens which are specific for the diagnosis of S. mansoni or S. haematobium and which may be used for seroepidemiologic studies to determine prevalence of infection and to predict success of therapy.
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