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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, February 2005, p. 329-333, Vol. 12, No. 2
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.2.329-333.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Mapping of B-Cell Epitopes in a Trypanosoma cruzi Immunodominant Antigen Expressed in Natural Infections

Mylène Lesénéchal,1,{dagger} Laurence Becquart,1 Xavier Lacoux,1,{dagger} Laurent Ladavière,2 Renata C. P. Baida,3 Glaucia Paranhos-Baccalà,1 and José Franco da Silveira3*

UMR 2714 CNRS-bioMérieux, IFR 128 BioSciences Lyon-Gerland, CERVI-21,1 UMR 5086 CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon I, Laboratoire de Bioinformatique et RMN Structurales, IFR 128 BioSciences Lyon-Gerland, Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines, Lyon, France,2 Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil3

Received 16 September 2004/ Returned for modification 19 October 2004/ Accepted 3 December 2004

Tc40 is an immunodominant antigen present in natural Trypanosoma cruzi infections. This immunogen was thoroughly mapped by using overlapping amino acid sequences identified by gene cloning and chemical peptide synthesis. To map continuous epitopes of the Tc40 antigen, an epitope expression library was constructed and screened with sera from human chagasic patients. A major, linear B-cell epitope spanning residues 403 to 426 (PAKAAAPPAA) was identified in the central domain of Tc40. A synthetic peptide spanning this region reacted strongly with 89.8% of the serum samples from T. cruzi-infected individuals. This indicates that the main antigenic site is defined by the linear sequence of the peptide rather than a conformation-dependent structure. The major B-cell epitope of Tc40 shares a high degree of sequence identity with T. cruzi ribosomal and RNA binding proteins, suggesting the existence of cross-reactivity among these molecules.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, UNIFESP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Phone: 55-11 55764532. Fax: 55-11 55711095. E-mail: franco{at}ecb.epm.br.

{dagger} Present address: R&D Department Immunoassay and Proteomics, bioMérieux, Chemin de l'Orme, 69280 Marcy l'Etoile, France.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, February 2005, p. 329-333, Vol. 12, No. 2
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.2.329-333.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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