title: Dogs vaccinated with gentamicin-attenuated Leishmania infantum or infected with wild-type parasite can be distinguished by Western blotting.
abstract: An attenuated line of Leishmania infantum (the H-line), developed through exposure to gentamicin, has been shown to protect dogs against canine visceral leishmaniasis. A specific diagnostic test to differentiate dogs vaccinated with the attenuated line from dogs infected with L. infantum wild-type (L. infantum WT) could be a valuable tool in evaluating the effectiveness of canine vaccination. In this study, 28 healthy dogs were allocated into four groups. In Group I and Group II (eight dogs per group), dogs were immunized subcutaneously (s.c.) with L. infantum H-line, and the dogs of Group II challenged s.c. with L. infantum WT, at 2 months post-immunization. In Group III, eight animals were challenged s.c. with L. infantum WT, and four dogs of Group IV were injected s.c. with PBS. We found that sera from vaccinated dogs recognize a 21 kDa antigen of promastigotes of L. infantum H-line but not of L. infantum WT, whereas sera from unvaccinated dogs challenged with L. infantum WT, recognized a 21 kDa antigen of promastigotes of L. infantum WT but not of L. infantum H-line. Sera from dogs challenged with L. infantum WT with prior vaccination with L. infantum H-line, recognized a 21 kDa antigen of both L. infantum WT and L. infantum H-line. These results suggest that the Western blot analysis of antibodies against 21 kDa antigens of L. infantum H-line and WT may be a useful technique for distinguishing between dogs vaccinated with L. infantum H-line and dogs naturally infected with L. infantum WT.
authors.affiliation: Leishmaniasis Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daneshvar
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mahmmodi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamiabi
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burchmore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005839:Gentamicins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D014611:Vaccination
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D005839:Gentamicins; D007074:Immunoglobulin G
keywords: Western blot; distinguishing; dogs; gentamicin-attenuated Leishmania infantum; vaccine