Extracellular vesicle-based cl-elisa as an enhanced diagnostic tool for toxoplasmosis surveillance
1
Department of Pathology, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil
2
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
3
Department of Parasitology, Institute Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, Brazil
4
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by toxoplasma gondii and represents a major public health concern. human infection is associated with severe outcomes in pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals, and its transmission dynamics are strongly influenced by the circulation of the parasite in animals. improving diagnostic capacity in surveillance systems is essential for early detection, risk assessment, and prevention of environmental and foodborne exposure. extracellular vesicles (evs) released by toxoplasma have gained attention as potential biomarkers because of their involvement in parasite communication and modulation of host responses. this study aimed to standardize a chemiluminescent enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cl-elisa) using parasite derived evs to enhance serological detection of t. gondii infection in epidemiological investigations.
METHODS:
a total of 146 goat serum samples previously collected for epidemiological surveillance were analyzed. microplates were sensitized with either t. gondii evs or total parasite antigen. evs were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis. cl-elisa performance using evs and parasite antigen was compared with a conventional elisa routinely applied.
RESULTS:
evs were incorporated into the cl-elisa at 10³ particles/well. conventional elisa identified 78 of 146 sera as negative. in contrast, cl elisa detected fewer negative samples: 24 of 146 when evs were used and 9 of 146 when parasite antigen was used. both cl-elisa formats revealed a higher proportion of positive cases, 83.6% with evs and 93.8% with antigen, demonstrating greater analytical sensitivity compared with the conventional method. these findings indicate that ev based cl-elisa may detect low level or early immune responses relevant for surveillance. concluision: the incorporation of toxoplasma evs into cl-elisa improved diagnostic performance, offering a sensitive tool for toxoplasmosis surveillance. improved detection in animals may aid public health by reducing zoonotic transmission and supporting safer food systems, supporting the feasibility of developing eV-based diagnostic kits for epidemiological monitoring.
toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed zoonotic disease caused by toxoplasma gondii and represents a major public health concern. human infection is associated with severe outcomes in pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals, and its transmission dynamics are strongly influenced by the circulation of the parasite in animals. improving diagnostic capacity in surveillance systems is essential for early detection, risk assessment, and prevention of environmental and foodborne exposure. extracellular vesicles (evs) released by toxoplasma have gained attention as potential biomarkers because of their involvement in parasite communication and modulation of host responses. this study aimed to standardize a chemiluminescent enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cl-elisa) using parasite derived evs to enhance serological detection of t. gondii infection in epidemiological investigations.
METHODS:
a total of 146 goat serum samples previously collected for epidemiological surveillance were analyzed. microplates were sensitized with either t. gondii evs or total parasite antigen. evs were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis. cl-elisa performance using evs and parasite antigen was compared with a conventional elisa routinely applied.
RESULTS:
evs were incorporated into the cl-elisa at 10³ particles/well. conventional elisa identified 78 of 146 sera as negative. in contrast, cl elisa detected fewer negative samples: 24 of 146 when evs were used and 9 of 146 when parasite antigen was used. both cl-elisa formats revealed a higher proportion of positive cases, 83.6% with evs and 93.8% with antigen, demonstrating greater analytical sensitivity compared with the conventional method. these findings indicate that ev based cl-elisa may detect low level or early immune responses relevant for surveillance. concluision: the incorporation of toxoplasma evs into cl-elisa improved diagnostic performance, offering a sensitive tool for toxoplasmosis surveillance. improved detection in animals may aid public health by reducing zoonotic transmission and supporting safer food systems, supporting the feasibility of developing eV-based diagnostic kits for epidemiological monitoring.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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