Novel recombinant multiepitope proteins for the detection of anti-Cryptococcus antibodies

• Published in: Future microbiology Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 429 - 436
• Main Authors: de Serpa Brandão, Rafael Melo Santos, Faria, Angélica Rosa, de Andrade, Hélida Monteiro, Soares Martins, Liline Maria, da Silva, Adalberto Socorro, do Monte, Semiramis Jamil Hadad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Future Medicine Ltd 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; Antibodies; Antibodies, Fungal - blood; Antibodies, Fungal - immunology; Antigens; Antigens, Fungal - genetics; Antigens, Fungal - immunology; Cryptococcosis; Cryptococcosis - blood; Cryptococcosis - diagnosis; Cryptococcosis - immunology; Cryptococcosis - microbiology; Cryptococcus; Cryptococcus - genetics; Cryptococcus - immunology; Diagnosis; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte - genetics; Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte - immunology; Escherichia coli - genetics; Fungal infections; Genes; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Laboratories; Life sciences; Medical diagnosis; Peptides; Protein D; Proteins; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Synthetic peptides; United States > US; multiepitope protein; antigens; synthetic gene; serological diagnosis; cryptococcosis; ELISA
• ISSN: 1746-0913; 1746-0921
• DOI: 10.2217/fmb-2017-0184

To produce and test recombinant multiepitope proteins as an alternative assay for the serological diagnosis of cryptococcosis. Previously, synthetic peptides were used to detect anti-Cryptococcus antibodies, and in silico analyses showed that the union of peptides would improve the results. Here, the coding sequences of these peptides were assembled into synthetic genes. Four genes have been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, producing recombinant multiepitope proteins: proteins A, B, C and D. All constructs yielded good results; however, protein D showed the best results, with a sensitivity of 88.57% and specificity of 100%. The multiepitope proteins were shown to be potential antigens for the diagnosis of cryptococcosis in an attempt to detect anti-Cryptococcus antibodies.