Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Development and clinical evaluation of a rapid serodiagnostic test for toxoplasmosis of cats using recombinant SAG1 antigen.
- Journal:
- The Korean journal of parasitology
- Year:
- 2011
- Authors:
- Chong, Chom-Kyu et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Biochemistry · South Korea
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Researchers have developed a quick test to check for Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats, which is important because this infection can also affect humans. They created a test using a specific protein called SAG1, which was found to be very effective in identifying the infection. The test was evaluated on blood samples from 182 cats, including both pets and strays, and showed excellent results, accurately detecting the infection in all tested cases. This new test is fast, easy to use, and highly reliable, making it a great option for quickly diagnosing Toxoplasma infections in cats.
Abstract
Rapid serodiagnostic methods for Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats are urgently needed for effective control of transmission routes toward human infections. In this work, 4 recombinant T. gondii antigens (SAG1, SAG2, GRA3, and GRA6) were produced and tested for the development of rapid diagnostic test (RDT). The proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, affinity-purified, and applied onto the nitrocellulose membrane of the test strip. The recombinant SAG1 (rSAG1) showed the strongest antigenic activity and highest specificity among them. We also performed clinical evaluation of the rSAG1-loaded RDT in 182 cat sera (55 household and 127 stray cats). The kit showed 0.88 of kappa value comparing with a commercialized ELISA kit, which indicated a significant correlation between rSAG1-loaded RDT and the ELISA kit. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the RDT were 100% (23/23) and 99.4% (158/159), respectively. The rSAG1-loaded RDT is rapid, easy to use, and highly accurate. Thus, it would be a suitable diagnostic tool for rapid detection of antibodies in T. gondii-infected cats under field conditions.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22072819/