A panel of recombinant Leishmania donovani cell surface and secreted proteins identifies LdBPK_323600.1 as a serological marker of symptomatic infection
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis is a deadly infectious disease and is one of the world’s major neglected health problems. Because the symptoms of infection are similar to other endemic diseases, accurate diagnosis is crucial for appropriate treatment. Definitive diagnosis using splenic or bone marrow aspirates is highly invasive, and so, serological assays are preferred, including the direct agglutination test (DAT) or rK39 strip test. These tests, however, are either difficult to perform in the field (DAT) or lack specificity in some endemic regions (rK39), making the development of new tests a research priority. The availability of Leishmania spp. genomes presents an opportunity to identify new diagnostic targets. Here, we use genome data and a mammalian protein expression system to create a panel of 93 proteins consisting of the extracellular ectodomains of the Leishmania donovani cell surface and secreted proteins. We use these panel and sera from murine experimental infection models and natural human and canine infections to identify new candidates for serological diagnosis. We observed a concordance between the most immunoreactive antigens in different host species and transmission settings. The antigen encoded by the LdBPK_323600.1 gene can diagnose Leishmania infections with high sensitivity and specificity in patient cohorts from different endemic regions including Bangladesh and Ethiopia. In longitudinal sampling of treated patients, we observed reductions in immunoreactivity to LdBPK_323600.1 suggesting it could be used to diagnose treatment success. In summary, we have identified new antigens that could contribute to improved serological diagnostic tests to help control the impact of this deadly tropical infectious disease.
Date Issued
2024-05
Date Acceptance
2024-03-22
Citation
mBio, 2024, 15 (5)
ISSN
2150-7511
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Journal / Book Title
mBio
Volume
15
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2024 Roberts et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38639536
Subjects
Animals
Antibodies, Protozoan
Antigens, Protozoan
Biomarkers
Dog Diseases
Dogs
Female
Humans
Leishmania donovani
Leishmaniasis, Visceral
Membrane Proteins
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Protozoan Proteins
Recombinant Proteins
Sensitivity and Specificity
Serologic Tests
ELISA
Leishmania donovani
proteins
recombinant proteins
serology
visceral leishmaniasis
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
e00859-24
Date Publish Online
2024-04-19