title: Mapping of the linear antigenic determinants from the Leishmania infantum histone H2A recognized by sera from dogs with leishmaniasis.
abstract: Antibodies reacting against the H2A histone protein were frequently observed in the sera from dogs naturally infected with the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum. Using synthetic peptides covering the complete sequence of the protein we have identified the amino terminal region, comprising from amino acids 1 to 20, and the carboxyl terminal region, comprising from amino acids 106 to 132, as conforming the antigenic determinants of the protein. Those regions, exposed in the nucleosome surface, are highly divergent in sequence relative to the mammalian H2A histones. The anti-H2A histone antibodies present in the sera of these dogs specifically recognize the L. infantum H2A histone and they do not react with mammalian histones. The present data indicate that, in spite of the evolutionary conservation of the H2A histone protein among eukaryotic organisms, the humoral response against this protein during natural infection is specifically triggered by the parasite protein antigenic determinants.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biologia Molecular "Severo Ochoa," Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Requena
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quijada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guzman
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Patarroyo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D004285:Dogs; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D007106:Immune Sera / Q000276:immunology; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D006657:Histones; D007106:Immune Sera; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins