Immunology and molecular biology of Opisthorchis viverrini infection

Opisthorchiasis is the major public health problems in Laos PDR and Thailand. The disease becomes chronic and persists for many years, leading to hepatobiliary disease and cholangiocarcinoma. Less severe manifestations include cholangitis, chronic cholecystitis and cholelithiasis. A significant degree of humoral and cell mediated immune responses to the parasite can be detected both in patients and animal models. The patients IgG levels appear to correlate with gall bladder size and dysfunction and correlated significantly with opisthorchis egg count and decrease after treatment. However, the possible significance of these immune responses to protective immunity is presently unknown. The development of immunodiagnostic method for Opisthorchis viverrini detection has been attempted. The components with molecular weight >116, 89, 78 and 20 kDa appear to be specifically associated with the somatic extract of adult fluke. The 89 kDa protein is the most prominent component found in the in vitro culture fluid of adult worms and the metacercarial extract that can be a candidate with significant immunodiagnostic potential. Highly specific and sensitive monoclonal antibodies for O. viverrini antigens were prepared to detect parasite antigens in stool and antibody in serum. Information regarding the molecular approaches of O. viverrini is very limited. The genome of O. viverrini has neither CpG nor A methylated as found in other parasites. The total length O. viverrini ribosomal DNA is approximately 13 kb. and the presence of a highly repeated DNA specific for the parasite was demonstrated. A O. viverrini specific DNA probe was constructed and PCR based detection with high specificity for amplification of the repeated sequences is performed to detect the presence of eggs’ DNA in stool samples in comparison with classical methods.