{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T12:32:04Z","timestamp":1793277124778,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,23]],"date-time":"2022-05-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1653264000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A multi-epitope protein expressed in a prokaryotic system, including epitopes of Env, Gag, and Tax proteins of both HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 was characterized for HTLV-1\/2 serological screening. This tool can contribute to support the implementation of public policies to reduce HTLV-1\/2 transmission in Brazil, the country with the highest absolute numbers of HTLV-1\/2 infected individuals. The chimeric protein was tested in EIA using serum\/plasma of HTLV-infected individuals and non-infected ones from four Brazilian states, including the North and Northeast regions (that present high prevalence of HTLV-1\/2) and Southeast region (that presents intermediate prevalence rates) depicting different epidemiological context of HTLV-1\/2 infection in our country. We enrolled samples from Par\u00e1 (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 114), Maranh\u00e3o (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 153), Minas Gerais (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 225) and S\u00e3o Paulo (<jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic> = 59) states; they are from blood donors' candidates (Par\u00e1 and Minas Gerais), pregnant women (Maranh\u00e3o) and HIV+\/high risk for sexually transmitted infection (STI; S\u00e3o Paulo). Among the HTLV-1\/2 positive sera, there were co-infections with viral (HTLV-1 + HTLV-2, HIV, HCV, and HBV), bacterial (<jats:italic>Treponema pallidum<\/jats:italic>) and parasitic (<jats:italic>Trypanosoma cruzi, Schistosma mansoni, Strongyloides stercoralis, Entamoeba coli, E. histolytica<\/jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Endolimax nana<\/jats:italic>) pathogens related to HTLV-1\/2 co-morbidities that can contribute to inconclusive diagnostic results. Sera positive for HIV were included among the HTLV-1\/2 negative samples. Considering both HTLV-1 and HTLV-2-infected samples from all states and different groups (blood donor candidates, pregnant women, and individuals with high risk for STI), mono or co-infected and HTLV-\/HIV+, the test specificity ranged from 90.09 to 95.19% and the sensitivity from 82.41 to 92.36% with high accuracy (ROC AUC = 0.9552). This multi-epitope protein showed great potential to be used in serological screening of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 in different platforms, even taking into account the great regional variation and different profile of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 mono or co-infected individuals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.884701","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,23]],"date-time":"2022-05-23T07:09:00Z","timestamp":1653289740000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Multi-Epitope Protein as a Tool of Serological Diagnostic Development for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 Infections"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Gabriela de Melo","family":"Franco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anderson Santos da","family":"Rocha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura Jorge","family":"Cox","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danielle Soares de Oliveira","family":"Daian e Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"D\u00e9bora Marques","family":"da Silveira e Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marina Lobato","family":"Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luis Claudio","family":"Romanelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ricardo","family":"Ishak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio C. 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