Serological diagnosis and prognostic of tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis using a conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein

• Published in: Parasitology international Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 344 - 350
• Main Authors: Dias, Daniel S., Ribeiro, Patrícia A.F., Salles, Beatriz C.S., Santos, Thaís T.O., Ramos, Fernanda F., Lage, Daniela P., Costa, Lourena E., Portela, Aquila S.B., Carvalho, Gerusa B., Chávez-Fumagalli, Miguel A., Caligiorne, Rachel B., Oliveira, Jamil S., Magalhães-Soares, Danielle F., Silva, Eduardo S., Galdino, Alexsandro S., Menezes-Souza, Daniel, Duarte, Mariana C., Gonçalves, Denise U., Coelho, Eduardo A.F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-06-2018
• Subjects: Diagnosis; Follow-up; Hypothetical proteins; Leishmania braziliensis; Leishmania infantum; Treatment; Leishmania braziliensis; Leishmania infantum; Hypothetical proteins; Treatment; Diagnosis; Follow-up
• ISSN: 1383-5769; 1873-0329
• DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2018.02.001

New candidates for serological markers against leishmaniasis are required to be identified, since the presence of high titers of anti-Leishmania antibodies remain detected in sera of treated and cured patients, when current antigens have being employed. In this study, the diagnostic performance of a conserved Leishmania hypothetical protein was evaluated against a human and canine serological panel. The serological follow-up of the patients was also evaluated, using this recombinant antigen (rLiHyS) in ELISA assays. In the results, high sensitivity and specificity values were found when rLiHyS was used in the serological tests, while when the recombinant A2 (rA2) protein or an antigenic Leishmania preparation were used as controls, low sensitivity and specificity were found. Regarding the serological follow-up of the patients, significant reductions in the anti-rLiHyS antibody levels were found and, one year after the treatments, the anti-protein IgG production was similar to this found in the non-infected groups, reflecting a drop of the anti-rLiHyS antibody production. In conclusion, the present study shows for the first time a new recombinant antigen used to identify tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis, as well as being able to serologically distinguish treated and cured patients from those developing active disease.
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•A conserved Leishmania protein, LiHyS, was evaluated in serological assays.•High sensitivity and specificity was reached when canine and human sera were tested.•The anti-LiHyS antibody presence was investigated before and after the treatment.•The specific-protein antibodies decrease after the end of the treatment.•The humoral response one year after was similar to this found in control subjects.