Desenvolvimento de anticorpos policlonais para diagnóstico de malária utilizando peptídeos sintéticos

Abstract

Malaria remains a serious public health problem widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In Brazil, the disease still presents high numbers of cases, in which Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) is responsible for most cases. One of the main ways of controlling this disease is linked to its correct diagnosis in the early stages, which the diagnostic method still considered "gold standard" is often not able to provide. This demonstrates the need to produce and distribute diagnostic tests which are not dependent on equipments and/or skilled professionals and are capable of delivering fast and accurate results even in remote regions. Therefore, the present study promoted the design and synthesis of peptides against specific regions of Plasmodium Lactate Dehydrogenase (pLDH) protein to obtain polyclonal antibodies through immunization of mice to obtain polyclonal antibodies against them, which only two of them have satisfactory specific antibody responses. The recognition of these antibodies to the native LDH protein of Plasmodium vivax have been confirmed by immunofluorescence. More studies are needed to confirm the specificity of the antibodies to be evaluated with markers of malaria infections that may constitute a national malaria diagnostic kit.