Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41666228›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2026

Conjugates of α-d-Galp-(1→3)-β-d-Galp for the serological diagnosis of Chagas disease.

Virginia Balouz, Rosana Lopez, Nicolás Conte, Manuel Abal, Ivana Ducrey, M Eugenia Giorgi, Rosa M de Lederkremer, Jaime Altcheh, Andrés E Ciocchini, Luciano J Melli and 2 more

Abstract readEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Virginia BalouzInstituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIBio), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Rosana LopezUniversidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono (CIHIDECAR UBA-CONICET), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Nicolás ConteChemtest Argentina S. A., San Martín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Manuel AbalInstituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIBio), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ivana DucreyInstituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIBio), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
M Eugenia GiorgiUniversidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono (CIHIDECAR UBA-CONICET), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Rosa M de LederkremerUniversidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono (CIHIDECAR UBA-CONICET), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Jaime AltchehServicio de Parasitología-Chagas, Hospital de Niños 'Dr Ricardo Gutierrez', and Instituto Multidisciplinario en Investigaciones Pediátricas (IMIPP) CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Andrés E CiocchiniInstituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIBio), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Luciano J MelliInstituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIBio), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Carla MarinoUniversidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Centro de Investigaciones en Hidratos de Carbono (CIHIDECAR UBA-CONICET), Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, and CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Carlos A BuscagliaInstituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas (IIBio), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6466-4138

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChagas disease (ChD), caused by the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is a lifelong, neglected tropical disease with substantial medical and socioeconomic impact. Despite this situation, currently available diagnostic and therapeutic methods display serious limitations. A promising strategy to improve ChD serodiagnosis involves targeting parasite carbohydrate antigens, particularly the α-galactosyl-rich mucins that coat the surface of bloodstream trypomastigotes (tGPI-mucins). METHODS/PRINCIPLE

findingsHere, we present a concise and efficient protocol for the chemical synthesis of a tGPI-mucin-derived glycotope, the disaccharide α-D-Galp-(1 → 3)-β-D-Galp, and its functional conjugation to different scaffolds using the squarate method. A neoglycoprotein made upon a bovine serum albumin (BSA) carrier decorated with ∼38 units of the disaccharide, termed BSA-Di, was interrogated with sera of chronic ChD patients and healthy individuals from Argentina using an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). BSA-Di exhibited excellent sensitivity and effectively discriminated between ChD-positive and negative sera with high accuracy (AUC = 0.905), though its specificity was partially affected by cross-reactivity of some non-ChD sera containing natural α-Gal antibodies. Conjugation of α-D-Galp-(1 → 3)-β-D-Galp to T. cruzi antigenic peptides, instead of BSA, corroborated these findings and enabled the generation of bivalent ChD diagnostic reagents combining glycan- and peptide-based epitopes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, our results identify α-D-Galp-(1 → 3)-β-D-Galp as a robust and reliable biomarker of T. cruzi infection. The methodologies and tools described here, together with optimized derivatives, are expected to positively impact ChD serological applications.

Indexed as

Antibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanChagas DiseaseDisaccharidesSerologic TestsTrypanosoma cruziAnimalsArgentinaEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent AssayHumansSensitivity and SpecificityAntibodies, ProtozoanAntigens, ProtozoanDisaccharides

Identifiers

PMID41666228
PMCPMC12915924

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.