ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2021
Detection of toxoplasmic encephalitis in HIV positive patients in urine with hydrogel nanoparticles.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Global Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Parasitic Coinfection in People Living with Viruses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
- Seroprevalence of IgG Antibodies AgainstPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Characterization ofMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy for Human Toxoplasmosis: Performance, Populations, and Validation Gaps.Medical devices (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Seroprevalence and Factors Associated with Infection with Toxoplasma gondii in Iquitos and Lima, Peru.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Urinary bacteriophage cooperation with bacterial pathogens during human urinary tract infections supports lysogenic phage therapy.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Nanotechnology Involved in Treating Urinary Tract Infections: An Overview.Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- A clinical, aetiological, and public health perspective on central nervous system infections in Bolivia, 2017-2018.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Unconventional Approaches to Direct Detection of Borreliosis and Other Tick Borne Illnesses: A Path Forward.Journal of cellular immunology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDiagnosis of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) is challenging under the best clinical circumstances. The poor clinical sensitivity of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for Toxoplasma in blood and CSF and the limited availability of molecular diagnostics and imaging technology leaves clinicians in resource-limited settings with few options other than empiric treatment. METHOLOGY/PRINCIPLE
findingsHere we describe proof of concept for a novel urine diagnostics for TE using Poly-N-Isopropylacrylamide nanoparticles dyed with Reactive Blue-221 to concentrate antigens, substantially increasing the limit of detection. After nanoparticle-concentration, a standard western blotting technique with a monoclonal antibody was used for antigen detection. Limit of detection was 7.8pg/ml and 31.3pg/ml of T. gondii antigens GRA1 and SAG1, respectively. To characterize this diagnostic approach, 164 hospitalized HIV-infected patients with neurological symptoms compatible with TE were tested for 1) T. gondii serology (121/147, positive samples/total samples tested), 2) qPCR in cerebrospinal fluid (11/41), 3) qPCR in blood (10/112), and 4) urinary GRA1 (30/164) and SAG1 (12/164). GRA1 appears to be superior to SAG1 for detection of TE antigens in urine. Fifty-one HIV-infected, T. gondii seropositive but asymptomatic persons all tested negative by nanoparticle western blot and blood qPCR, suggesting the test has good specificity for TE for both GRA1 and SAG1. In a subgroup of 44 patients, urine samples were assayed with mass spectrometry parallel-reaction-monitoring (PRM) for the presence of T. gondii antigens. PRM identified antigens in 8 samples, 6 of which were concordant with the urine diagnostic. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCES: Our results demonstrate nanoparticle technology's potential for a noninvasive diagnostic test for TE. Moving forward, GRA1 is a promising target for antigen based diagnostics for TE.
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