Use of Purified Parasite Proteins from Leishmania donovani for the Rapid Serodiagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 157; no. 6; pp. 1212 - 1220
• Main Authors: Jaffe, Charles L., Zalis, Mariano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.06.1988; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Antigens; Antigens, Protozoan - immunology; Antigens, Protozoan - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Chagas disease; Chromatography, Affinity; Cross Reactions; Endemic diseases; Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; Human protozoal diseases; Humans; Immunoassay; Infectious diseases; Leishmania donovani; Leishmania donovani - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - diagnosis; Leprosy; Leshmaniasis; Medical sciences; Original Articles; Parasites; Parasitic diseases; Predictive Value of Tests; Protozoal diseases; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Tropical medicine; Visceral leishmaniasis; Human; Protozoa; Protozoal disease; Purification; Leishmania donovani; Immunoreagent; Kala azar; Leishmaniasis; Infection; Proteins; Asia; Rhizoflagellata; Diagnosis; Israel
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/157.6.1212

Serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) due to Leishmania donovani by using crude parasite antigen is complicated in many endemic areas because of cross-reactions with sera from humans with Chagas' disease. We used affinity-purified parasite proteins to develop a direct dot-blot assay for VL. Double-blind tests were carried out on sera from 40 patients with well-documented VL, from controls in endemic areas, and from patients with other diseases. Using gp70-2, 36 (90.0%) of 40 sera from patients with kala azar were correctly diagnosed; 1 (1.2%) of 86 sera from patients without kala azar was misdiagnosed. With dp72, 21 (100%) of 21 sera from patients with VL were correctly identified; 5 (7.0%) of 71 negative sera were misdiagnosed. None of the 18 sera from patients with Chagas' disease reacted positively against gp70-2. Our assay is rapid, simple, and specific and represents a new method for reliably diagnosing and monitoring VL.