title: Canine Antibodies against Salivary Recombinant Proteins of Phlebotomus perniciosus: A Longitudinal Study in an Endemic Focus of Canine Leishmaniasis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of Leishmania parasites. During blood feeding, sand flies deposit into the host skin immunogenic salivary proteins which elicit specific antibody responses. These anti-saliva antibodies enable an estimate of the host exposure to sand flies and, in leishmaniasis endemic areas, also the risk for Leishmania infections. However, the use of whole salivary gland homogenates as antigen has several limitations, and therefore, recombinant salivary proteins have been tested to replace them in antibody detection assays. In this study, we have used for the first time sand fly salivary recombinant proteins in a longitudinal field study on dogs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sera from dogs naturally exposed to P. perniciosus bites over two consecutive transmission seasons in a site endemic for canine leishmaniasis (CanL) were tested at different time points by ELISA for the antibodies recognizing whole saliva, single salivary 43 kDa yellow-related recombinant protein (rSP03B), and a combination of two salivary recombinant proteins, 43 kDa yellow-related protein and 35.5 kDa apyrase (rSP01). Dogs were also tested for Leishmania infantum positivity by serology, culture, and PCR and the infection status was evaluated prospectively. We found a significant association between active CanL infection and the amount of anti-P. perniciosus saliva antibodies. Importantly, we detected a high correlation between IgG antibodies recognizing rSP03B protein and the whole salivary antigen. The kinetics of antibody response showed for both a whole saliva and rSP03B a similar pattern that was clearly related to the seasonal abundance of P. perniciosus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that P. perniciosus rSP03B protein is a valid alternative to whole saliva and could be used in large-scale serological studies. This novel method could be a practical and economically-sound tool to detect the host exposure to sand fly bites in CanL endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kostalova
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Tereza
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lestinova
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sumova
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vlkova
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rohousova
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Department, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berriatua
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University Federico II, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.affiliation: Unit of Vector-borne Diseases and International Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fiorentino
authors.affiliation: Unit of Vector-borne Diseases and International Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scalone
authors.affiliation: Unit of Vector-borne Diseases and International Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gramiccia
authors.affiliation: Unit of Vector-borne Diseases and International Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gradoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Volf
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D004285:Dogs; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000662:veterinary*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007558:Italy; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010691:Phlebotomus / Q000276:immunology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides