Antibody response in patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis infected by Leishmania ( Viannia) braziliensis or Leishmania ( Viannia) guyanensis in Brazil

• Published in: Acta tropica Vol. 93; no. 1; pp. 49 - 56
• Main Authors: Romero, Gustavo Adolfo Sierra, Orge, Maria de la Glória Orge, Guerra, Marcus Vinitius de Farias, Paes, Marcilene Gomes, Macêdo, Vanize de Oliveira, Carvalho, Edgar M. de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Antibodies, Protozoan - biosynthesis; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Antibody response; Antigens, Protozoan; Antiprotozoal Agents - administration & dosage; Antiprotozoal Agents - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil; Cutaneous leishmaniasis; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; General aspects; Human protozoal diseases; Humans; Indirect immunofluorescent assay; Infectious diseases; Leishmania ( Viannia) braziliensis; Leishmania ( Viannia) guyanensis; Leishmania amazonensis; Leishmania braziliensis - immunology; Leishmania guyanensis - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - drug therapy; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - parasitology; Leshmaniasis; Male; Medical sciences; Meglumine - administration & dosage; Meglumine - therapeutic use; Organometallic Compounds - administration & dosage; Organometallic Compounds - therapeutic use; Parasitic diseases; Protozoal diseases; Skin Tests; Viannia; Viannia braziliensis; South America; Brazil; America; Cutaneous leishmaniasis; Brazil; Indirect immunofluorescent assay; Antibody response; ELISA; Leishmania ( Viannia) braziliensis; Leishmania ( Viannia) guyanensis; Kinetoplastida; Human; Leishmania braziliensis; Protozoa; Protozoal disease; Immune response; Antibody; Parasitosis; Leishmaniasis; Infection; Tropical medicine; Skin; Leishmania guyanensis
• ISSN: 0001-706X; 1873-6254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2004.09.005

The antibody response against
Leishmania (
Leishmania)
amazonensis crude antigen was measured through the indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and the immunoenzymatic assay (ELISA) in 114 patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Brazil. Fifty-four patients were infected by
Leishmania (
Viannia)
braziliensis, and 60 patients had
L. (
V.)
guyanensis infection. Patients were comparable by age, sex, disease duration and the Montenegro skin test diameter.
L. (
V.)
braziliensis-infected patients showed significant lower number of ulcerated lesions, greater ulcerated area and higher proportion of lymph node enlargement. Sensitivity of IFA was 79.6% (95% CI 66.1–88.9) and 71.7% (95% CI 58.4–82.2) for
L. (
V.)
braziliensis and
L. (
V.)
guyanensis-infected patients, respectively (
P
=
0.324). Sensitivity of ELISA was 98.2% (95% CI 88.8–99.9) and 85.0% (95% CI 72.9–92.5) for
L. (
V.)
braziliensis and
L. (
V.)
guyanensis-infected patients, respectively (
P
=
0.018). Significant differences were observed in the magnitude of the antibody response before treatment with higher levels detected in
L. (
V.)
braziliensis-infected patients by both serologic techniques. Eighty-four patients had serologic evaluations before and 12 weeks after treatment with meglumine antimoniate, 20
mg/kg/day for 20 days. Significant lower optic density values were observed after treatment with both species independent of cure or failure. Our data showed that
L. (
V.)
braziliensis induces a higher antibody response against
L. (
L.)
amazonensis antigens than
L. (
V.)
guyanensis and that down-modulation of the antibody response occurs shortly during disease evolution after treatment. Moreover the data support the use of ELISA as a better tool for detection of antibodies in CL.