Neurocysticercosis (NCC), the most common parasitic disease of the CNS, is caused by the larval stage of Taenia solium, a cestode parasite. NCC diagnosis is generally difficult and determined by clinical criteria coupled with CT or MRI procedures. However, the utility of these diagnostic procedures in high incidence areas (developing countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia) is limited. Thus the goal of this proposal is to develop a reliable serological assay for NCC that has general utility in developing countries. The investigator proposes to develop a diagnostic ELISA assay using recombinant antigens. To this end, the specific aims of this proposal are to: 1. Identify recombinant clones of T solium glycoproteins by screening cDNA libraries with antisera directed against these proteins and express these proteins in high quantities. 2. Use the expressed proteins to develop and optimize an ELISA assay and to compare the specificity and sensitivity of the ELISA assay with that of the immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) assay. 3. Biochemically and molecularly characterize the glycoproteins to assess the contribution of carbohydrates to the protein's antigenicity and to map the diagnostic epitopes
