Radioimmunoassay for Ascaris specific protein and its clinical approach to gastro-intestinal diseases

In this study, we developed a reliable radioimmunoassay (RIA) method for Ascaris specific protein (ASP) and measured the serum levels in control subjects average; 5.94 +- 5.94 ng/ml) and in patients with Ascaris and a variety of gastrointestinal diseases. In all Ascaris carriers, very high concentration of ASP (average; 151.4 ng/ml) was observed. 12 out of 38 patients with ulcerative colitis showed significantly high serum levels of ASP. The high titer of ASP and the presence of antibody to ASP, previously described, may suggest the close relationship between ASP and ulcerative colitis. RIA for ASP, also provides simple method for screening the patients with Ascaris and hence may open the new field in parasitology. (author)