Mapping of the putative epitope domain of Clonorchis sinensis paramyosin (CsPmy) recognized by CsPmy-specific immunoglobulin G in sera of human clonorchiasis

Abstract Paramyosin of Clonorchis sinensis (CsPmy) is a myofibrillar protein localized in subtegumental muscle, tegument, and the muscle layer surrounding the intestine of the parasite. Previously, we have identified that CsPmy reacted with sera of human clonorchiasis and this protein had a potential as a candidate antigen for serodiagnosis of clonorchiasis. However, we also found that CsPmy is able to bind to human immunoglobulin G (IgG) in non-specific manners, which can affect the diagnostic value of the protein. Here, we mapped CsPmy-specific IgG binding site on CsPmy to analyze the putative epitopes recognized by CsPmy-specific IgG in sera of human clonorchiasis. The fragmental expression of CsPmy followed by immunoblot analyses with sera from patients with clonorchiasis and non-specific human IgG revealed that the middle portion of CsPmy (CsPmyC: 301–600 amino acid residues) had epitopes responsible for CsPmy-specific IgG recognition. The precise CsPmy-specific IgG binding site was further narrowed down to a fragment (CsPmyC-2), which harbors 151 amino acid residues (375–525) of CsPmy. Specific antibodies for CsPmyC-2 were produced in rats after two-weeks of post-experimental infection. The CsPmyC-2 showed low levels of cross reactivity against the sera from patients with other helminth parasites. Our results suggested that CsPmyC-2 has real epitopes recognized by CsPmy-specific IgG in sera of human clonorchiasis and the fragment can be useful as a reliable serodiagnostic antigen to develop a serodiagnostic method for clonorchiasis.