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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, November 2001, p. 1220-1224, Vol. 8, No. 6
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.6.1220-1224.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Recombinant K39 Antigen in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Indian Visceral Leishmaniasis

R. Kumar, K. Pai, K. Pathak, and S. Sundar*

Kala-Azar Medical Research Center, Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India

Received 8 March 2001/Returned for modification 17 July 2001/Accepted 13 September 2001

The recombinant product (rK39) of the 39-amino-acid repeats encoded by a kinesin-like protein-encoding gene of Leishmania chagasi was evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for diagnostic potential and the ability to predict the response to therapy in Indian kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis (VL); we also compared its performance with that of crude soluble antigen (CSA). At the diagnosis of VL, the anti-rK39 antibody titer was 59-fold higher than the anti-CSA antibody titer. With successful therapy, antibody titers declined steeply at the end of treatment and during follow-up. In contrast, patients who relapsed showed increased titers of antibodies to rK39. The extremely high levels of anti-rK39 antibodies in VL cases suggest the application of rK39 for sensitive and specific serodiagnosis, and rK39 ELISA is also valuable in monitoring drug therapy and detecting relapse of the disease.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: 6, S.K. Gupta Nagar, Lanka, Varanasi-221005, India. Phone: 91-542-367 795. Fax: 91-542-368912. E-mail: shyams{at}sancharnet.in.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, November 2001, p. 1220-1224, Vol. 8, No. 6
1071-412X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/CDLI.8.6.1220-1224.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.