Serological reactivity to heat shock protein 70 in patients with hydatid disease

Abstract

Heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) was chosen as a model antigen with which to investigate autoantibody production in humans with cystic hydatid disease. Levels of specific serum antibody were assessed in the sera of patients with surgically confirmed infection with E. granulosus and sera from non-infected controls. Antigens used were human hsp70, obtained from K562 cells grown in culture, and E. granulosus hsp70 obtained by expression of the full length protein in Escherichia coli following cloning of the associated mRNA. Antibody reactivity to human hsp70 was detected in the sera of only a small proportion of hydatid patients (10%) as well as a similar proportion of sera from age matched contro..