Multi-Epitope Protein as a Tool of Serological Diagnostic Development for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 Infections.

A multi-epitope protein expressed in a prokaryotic system, including epitopes of Env, Gag, and Tax proteins of both HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 was characterized for HTLV-1/2 serological screening. This tool can contribute to support the implementation of public policies to reduce HTLV-1/2 transmission in Brazil, the country with the highest absolute numbers of HTLV-1/2 infected individuals. The chimeric protein was tested in EIA using serum/plasma of HTLV-infected individuals and non-infected ones from four Brazilian states, including the North and Northeast regions (that present high prevalence of HTLV-1/2) and Southeast region (that presents intermediate prevalence rates) depicting different epidemiological context of HTLV-1/2 infection in our country. We enrolled samples from Pará (n = 114), Maranhão (n = 153), Minas Gerais (n = 225) and São Paulo (n = 59) states; they are from blood donors' candidates (Pará and Minas Gerais), pregnant women (Maranhão) and HIV+/high risk for sexually transmitted infection (STI; São Paulo). Among the HTLV-1/2 positive sera, there were co-infections with viral (HTLV-1 + HTLV-2, HIV, HCV, and HBV), bacterial (Treponema pallidum) and parasitic (Trypanosoma cruzi, Schistosma mansoni, Strongyloides stercoralis, Entamoeba coli, E. histolytica, and Endolimax nana) pathogens related to HTLV-1/2 co-morbidities that can contribute to inconclusive diagnostic results. Sera positive for HIV were included among the HTLV-1/2 negative samples. Considering both HTLV-1 and HTLV-2-infected samples from all states and different groups (blood donor candidates, pregnant women, and individuals with high risk for STI), mono or co-infected and HTLV-/HIV+, the test specificity ranged from 90.09 to 95.19% and the sensitivity from 82.41 to 92.36% with high accuracy (ROC AUC = 0.9552). This multi-epitope protein showed great potential to be used in serological screening of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 in different platforms, even taking into account the great regional variation and different profile of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 mono or co-infected individuals. Copyright © 2022 Franco, Rocha, Cox, Daian e Silva, da Silveira e Santos, Martins, Romanelli, Ishak, Vallinoto, Bomfim, Caterino-de-Araujo, Coelho-dos-Reis, da Fonseca and Barbosa-Stancioli.

Citation

Gabriela de Melo Franco, Anderson Santos da Rocha, Laura Jorge Cox, Danielle Soares de Oliveira Daian E Silva, Débora Marques da Silveira E Santos, Marina Lobato Martins, Luis Claudio Romanelli, Ricardo Ishak, Antonio C R Vallinoto, Maria Rosa Q Bomfim, Adele Caterino-de-Araujo, Jordana G A Coelho-Dos-Reis, Flávio Guimarães da Fonseca, Edel Figueiredo Barbosa-Stancioli. Multi-Epitope Protein as a Tool of Serological Diagnostic Development for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 Infections. Frontiers in public health. 2022;10:884701

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PMID: 35677763

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