An Immunogenic Onchocerca volvulus Antigen: a Specific and Early Marker of Infection

作者：Edgar Lobos, N Weiss, M Karam, Hugh Ringland Taylor, Eric A. Ottesen, Thomas B. Nutman · 发表于：Science · 年份：1991 · DOI：10.1126/science.2011741 · 被引用次数：161 · 研究领域：Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment、Insects and Parasite Interactions、Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences

Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a serious health problem and a severe obstacle to social and economic development, especially in Africa. A complementary DNA fragment coding for an Onchocerca volvulus antigen (OV-16) was cloned and expressed in the plasmid vector pCG808fx. Immune responses to this O. volvulus-specific recombinant antigen were detectable in patients with documented onchocerciasis; the antibody response was also detectable at 3 months and at more than 1 year before infection could otherwise be detected in humans and in chimpanzees experimentally infected with O. volvulus third-stage larvae.