Diagnostic Efficacy of Plasma-Based Real-Time PCR for Schistosomiasis Japonica in Mice before and after Treatment with Praziquantel
Cheng Chen,
Xue Zhou,
Qinghong Guo,
Chao Lv,
Yalan Tang,
Qingqing Guo,
Yang Chen,
Kerou Zhou,
Zhiqiang Fu,
Jinming Liu,
Jiaojiao Lin,
Yang Hong,
Jun-Hu Chen
Affiliations
Cheng Chen
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Xue Zhou
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Qinghong Guo
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Chao Lv
National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC) Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
Yalan Tang
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Qingqing Guo
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Yang Chen
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Kerou Zhou
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Zhiqiang Fu
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Jinming Liu
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Jiaojiao Lin
National Reference Laboratory for Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China
Yang Hong
National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC) Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
Jun-Hu Chen
National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC) Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China
The prevalence of schistosomiasis japonica in China is now characterized by a low epidemic rate and low-intensity infections. Some diagnostic methods with high sensitivity and specificity are urgently needed to better monitor this disease in the current situation. In this study, the detection efficacy of a real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was assessed for schistosomiasis japonica in mice, and before and after treatment with praziquantel (PZQ). Our results showed that the sensitivity of the qPCR was 99.3% (152/153, 95% CI: 96.41–99.98%) and its specificity was 100% (77/77, 95% CI: 95.32–100%) in mice infected with different numbers of Schistosoma japonicum. After the oral administration of PZQ, mice infected with 10 cercariae or 40 cercariae were all Schistosoma japonicum-negative 6 weeks after treatment. However, the negativity rates on a soluble egg antigen (SEA)-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were only 34.8% (8/23, 10 cercariae group) and 6.7% (1/15, 40 cercariae group) at the sixth week after PZQ treatment. These results demonstrated that the qPCR method had good sensitivity and specificity, and suggested that its sensitivity correlated with the infection intensity in mice. Moreover, this method had better potential utility for evaluating the treatment efficacy of PZQ in schistosome-infected mice than SEA-based ELISA.
