Characterization of the Humoral Immune Response against Gnathostoma binucleatum in Patients Clinically Diagnosed with Gnathostomiasis

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Abstract
Gnathostomiasis is an emerging systemic parasitic disease acquired by consuming raw or uncooked fresh-water fish infected with the advanced third-stage larvae of Gnathostoma spp. This disease is endemic to the Pacific region of Mexico, and one of its etiologic agents has been identified as Gnathostoma binucleatum. We characterized the humoral immune response of patients clinically diagnosed with gnathostomiasis by detecting total IgM, IgE, and IgG class and subclasses against a crude extract of the parasite by Western blotting. Our results do not show differences in the antigens recognized by IgM and IgE. However, we found that the specific humoral immune response is caused mainly by IgG, specifically IgG4. We found that 43%, 65.2%, 54.1%, and 26.3% of the patients recognize the 37-kD, 33-kD, 31-kD, and 24-kDa antigens, suggesting that the 33-kD antigen is the immunodominant antigen of G. binucleatum.

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