Purification of the 67-kDa lectin-like glycoprotein ofTrypanosoma cruzi, LLGP-67, and its evaluation as a relevant antigen for the diagnosis of human infection

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Abstract
In the present work we propose a simple method for affinity purification of the 67-kDa lectin-like glycoprotein (LLGP-67) from Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas’ disease. The LLGP-67, which presents galactose binding activity and participates in the host cell recognition process, was previously purified by methods based on its interaction with galactose residues on erythrocytic membranes. We describe herein results showing that this protein can be purified from T. cruzi in a direct way using non-derivatized agarose as a chromatographic ligand. We also demonstrate the relevance of LLGP-67 as an antigen for human diagnosis of chagasic infection. Sensitivity and specificity for this antigen were calculated, being 98 and 98.11% respectively.