title: Presence of anti-Lepp12 antibody: a marker for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of visceral leishmaniasis.
abstract: The diagnostic potential of recombinant Lepp12 (rLepp12) antigen cloned from Leishmania infantum was assessed in L. donovani infections by Western blotting. Ninety-two serum samples, including 30 patients with active kala-azar (KA), 17 post-treated KA patients (KA-PT), 20 post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients and 25 controls, were analysed for rLepp12, rK39 and DAT positivity. All KA samples taken at pre-treatment stage were positive for Lepp12 antibodies. Seventeen of these were evaluated post treatment (KA-PT), 10 of which were found to be negative. Nine of these 10 negative cases corresponded to clinically cured patients with regressed spleen. Seven post-treatment cases were rLepp12-positive; all of them corresponded to patients who were considered clinically cured but continued to have an enlarged spleen (> or =5 cm). The majority of PKDL patients (18/20) were found to be seronegative by immunoblot test using rLepp12 antigen. The rLepp12-based Western blot diagnosed 100% of patients with visceral disease, whilst none of the control cases were found to be reactive to rLepp12. rLepp12 protein provides a useful reagent for highly sensitive and specific diagnosis of KA. Additionally, rLepp12 appears to have potential as a prognostic marker for the infection.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Institute of Pathology (ICMR), Safdarjung Hospital Campus, New Delhi 110029, India.
authors.forename: Dhiraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Gurumurthy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Srividya
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.forename: Ruchi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Narendra Singh
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Negi
authors.forename: Konstantina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fragaki
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kubar
authors.forename: Poonam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Salotra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015153:Blotting, Western; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D015415:Biomarkers; C481965:Lepp12 protein, Leishmania infantum; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D015800:Protozoan Proteins