A Global View on the use of Synthetic Peptides in ELISA-Based Serodiagnosis of Human Infectious Diseases
Lucas da Silva Lopes, Anna Julia Ribeiro, Barbara Lais Nascimento Silva, Cássio Siqueira Souza Cassiano, Carlos Ananias Aparecida Resende, Isabelle Caroline Santos Barcelos, Isadora Braga Gandra, Kamila Alves Silva, Leonardo Maciel Santos Silva, Leticia Silva Souza, Livia Corrêa Ferreira, Sabrina Paula Pereira, Sandra Rodrigues Xavier, Mariana Campos da Paz, Rodolfo Cordeiro Giunchetti, Ricardo Andrez Machado-de-Ávila, Mírian Ívens Fagundes, Miguel Angel Chavez-Fumagalli, Eduardo Antônio Ferraz Coelho, Juana Elizabeth Reyes Martínez, Marcio Sobreira Silva Araújo, Ana Alice Maia Gonçalves, Alexsandro Sobreira GaldinoAbstract:
The development of accurate and efficient diagnostic methods is essential to optimize the quality of life of patients. Serological methods using pathogenic antigens have demonstrated high performance in various applications. The use of synthetic peptides as antigens in serological tests has recently shown promising results, especially in the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), as they offer greater specificity, reproducibility, and the ability to overcome limitations associated with crude antigens, which are low in sensitivity and prone to cross-reactions. Combining the advantages of serological testing with synthetic antigens, this review analyzes studies made over the past decade on the use of synthetic peptides in ELISA for the diagnosis of infectious diseases of bacterial, helminthic, protozoan, viral, and fungal origin. A search was conducted on the PubMed database platform using the keywords “serodiagnosis,” “peptide,” “immunodiagnosis,” and “diagnosis.” Publications were selected after reading the titles and abstracts using pre-established selection and exclusion criteria, resulting in 31 eligible publications, which were included in this study. The results showed variation in sensitivity and specificity, with some studies reporting values above 90%. However, there were also low sensitivity and specificity due to several factors, including peptide selection methods, antigen concentration, sample quality, storage issues, and disease stage. This study further shows that synthetic peptide prediction and synthesis tools are an emerging area that could improve serological diagnosis.