Neither CATT nor Latex/T b g can, in fact, be used for the evalu

Neither CATT nor Latex/T.b.g. can, in fact, be used for the evaluation of outcomes after treatment, since the detected antibodies persist in the host after the clearance of parasites [46]. An approach widely used to identify new potential targets for the development of antigen-based diagnostic tools is the investigation of the parasite proteome and sub-proteomes.

It has been suggested that the interaction between host and pathogens plays a central role in the onset of the disease as well as for the severity of the clinical presentation [47]. During the last few years, pathogeno-proteomics has been regarded as a very promising selleck chemical approach for the identification of new diagnostic and prognostic markers, or for the identification of new therapeutic targets [48] and [49]. Pathogeno-proteomics is based on the analysis of the cross-talk between the parasite, the host and the vector, with the aim of characterizing the crucial mechanisms which lead to the disease [48], The proteome and sub-proteomes

of trypanosomes, at different stages of development in both human hosts and vectors, have been extensively studied using this approach. A number of differentially expressed trypanosome proteins have been identified as typical of the parasite’s different life stages [50]. However, most of the published studies focused on the characterization of Trypanosoma Lapatinib datasheet brucei brucei parasite. Further investigations translating these findings to the two subspecies infectious to humans are strongly needed, since this type of approach could highlight new targets for the development of new tools and drugs. The amplification of specific trypanosome DNA sequences by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of HAT was first proposed during the 1990s [38]. Different assays have been developed based on the amplification of TBR 1–2 sequences [51] and [52], minicircles of the kienetoplast DNA (kDNA) [53] and ribosomal RNA genes [54], which are shared by the different Trypanozoon subgenus. Alternatively, the amplification of T. b. gambiense specific glycoprotein (TgsGP) [55], or of sequences of the gene encoding for

the SRA protein specific for T. b. rhodesiense [56] have also been evaluated. Beside the high specificity of PCR for the diagnosis of HAT, most of the published studies were limited by the investigation Verteporfin cell line of a relatively small number of patients; by the lack of comparison to the diagnostic utility of other tests (such as the CATT); or by the lack of the determination of the diagnostic accuracy on suspected cases rather than only on parasitologically confirmed cases. This latter aspect is particularly important for assays based on the use of primers able to detect the forms of parasite non-infectious to humans in addition to T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense. The value of PCR as a diagnostic tool was recently evaluated in a retrospective study conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.

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