Nucleoside hydrolase from Leishmania (L.) donovani is an antigen diagnostic for visceral leishmaniasis

Abstract:

In this study, we have isolated a gene encoding the nucleoside hydrolase (NH) of Leishmania (L.) donovani which is a component of the GP36 antigen. We show that recombinant LdNH is useful for the diagnosis of clinical kala-azar in dogs since it reacts preferentially with the IgG1 subtype of immunoglobulin that is enhanced in kala-azar susceptible dogs and in advanced disease. In the New World kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis, VL) is a canid zoonosis and one of the most important emerging diseases [1]. In human and canine kala-azar antibodies to Leishmania appear in the circulation soon after infection during an early subclinical period [2]. The control of zoonotic VL (ZVL) in northeastern Brazil has centered on the detection of infected dogs by serological assays using immunofluorescence (IF) and elimination of seropositive dogs [3]. Seropositivity detected by IF usually correlates well with parasitological evidence of infection [3Á/5]. However due to its low sensitivity this method underestimates the true prevalence of canine infection. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)[3, 6, 7], dot-ELISA [8], Western blot [9], rapid

Año de publicación:

2002

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