title: Gel purified LipL32: a prospective antigen for detection of leptospirosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leptospirosis, a zoonosis, is a re-emerging disease, affecting populations across the globe. However, the current methods of diagnosis are time- consuming, cumbersome, imprecise or expensive.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop an assay for differential and early diagnosis of Leptospirosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  IgG based ELISA for evaluation of three antigens, namely, a gel-purified recombinant protein (rLipL32), secreted proteins and whole organism sonicates of Leptospira spp. The antigens were evaluated using, rabbit polyclonal antiserum and human sera samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Studies with a rabbit polyclonal antiserum indicated the utility of these antigens in differentiating Leptospira from other common pathogenic organisms. Evaluation of these antigens with fifteen representative human serum samples indicated gel-purified rLipL32 to be a potentially useful antigen for detection of leptospirosis. The results obtained with IgG ELISA were correlated with the results of microscopic agglutination test (MAT).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gel-purified rLipL32 is a valuable antigen for early and accurate diagnosis of leptospirosis. Further evaluation of this assay in field conditions and larger sera samples will indicate its suitability in case of an epidemic.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tahiliani
authors.forename: M Mohan
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chandu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nagaraj
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nandi
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007919:Leptospira / Q000276:immunology*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; C406589:LipL32 protein, Leptospira; D008074:Lipoproteins