New biomarker for onchocerciasis

A newly identified biomarker detectable in urine could prove useful in developing a portable field test for onchocerciasis or river blindness. Using a painstaking process of metabolomic data mining the researchers were able to identify a metabolite that occurred in the urine from onchocerciasisinfected patients but not in health controls. The metabolite, N-acetyltyramine-O,β-glucuronide, could be traced to O. volvulus as a neurotransmitter molecule that is secreted by young, reproducing worms and then modified by the human body on its way to being excreted in urine. This biomarker appears to be specific for an active infection, suggesting that a field test based on the biomarker would be robustly useful. The next goal would be to create a simple and inexpensive urine dipstick test that is tolerant of extreme temperatures and portable. Current diagnostic methods include biopsies for microscopic analysis, and an ELISA antibody test for microfilariae, which may yield positive results even for non-active infections.

Globisch et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “Onchocerca volvulus Neurotransmitter Tyramine is a Biomarker for River Blindness,†2013 110 (11) 4218-4223.