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In Silico Identification of a Candidate Synthetic Peptide (Tsgf118–43) to Monitor Human Exposure to Tsetse Flies in West Africa

2013; Public Library of Science; Volume: 7; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pntd.0002455

1935-2735

Emilie Dama, Sylvie Cornélie, Mamadou Camara, Martin Bienvenu Somda, Anne Poinsignon, Hamidou Ilboudo, Emmanuel Elanga Ndille, Vincent Jamonneau, Philippe Solano, Franck Remoué, Zakaria Bengaly, Adrien Marie Gaston Bélem, Bruno Bucheton,

Research on Leishmaniasis Studies

The analysis of humoral responses directed against the saliva of blood-sucking arthropods was shown to provide epidemiological biomarkers of human exposure to vector-borne diseases. However, the use of whole saliva as antigen presents several limitations such as problems of mass production, reproducibility and specificity. The aim of this study was to design a specific biomarker of exposure to tsetse flies based on the in silico analysis of three Glossina salivary proteins (Ada, Ag5 and Tsgf1) previously shown to be specifically recognized by plasma from exposed individuals.Synthetic peptides were designed by combining several linear epitope prediction methods and Blast analysis. The most specific peptides were then tested by indirect ELISA on a bank of 160 plasma samples from tsetse infested areas and tsetse free areas. Anti-Tsgf118-43 specific IgG levels were low in all three control populations (from rural Africa, urban Africa and Europe) and were significantly higher (p<0.0001) in the two populations exposed to tsetse flies (Guinean HAT foci, and South West Burkina Faso). A positive correlation was also found between Anti-Tsgf118-43 IgG levels and the risk of being infected by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in the sleeping sickness foci of Guinea.The Tsgf118-43 peptide is a suitable and promising candidate to develop a standardize immunoassay allowing large scale monitoring of human exposure to tsetse flies in West Africa. This could provide a new surveillance indicator for tsetse control interventions by HAT control programs.