title: Evaluation of a 200-kDa amastigote-specific antigen of L. donovani by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis.
abstract: A purified 200-kDa antigenic fraction from Leishmania donovani axenic amastigotes was evaluated by ELISA for the detection of antibody response in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients, post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients and controls, for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. A positive antibody response to the 200-kDa amastigote fraction and to Leishmania amastigote soluble antigen (LASA) was found in 29 (96.6%) and 30 ((100%) confirmed VL patients, respectively, by the use of ELISA. However, only 1 (10%) out of 10 PKDL patients had detectable antibody response to 200-kDa fraction while all the 10 (100%) PKDL patients exhibited an immune response to LASA. Therefore, use of the 200-kDa antigenic fraction for the detection of antibody response in an ELISA follow-up (post treatment) of VL patients may have prognostic significance, and it may also be useful for differentiating active VL and PKDL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kaul
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malla
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Ganguly
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan