Recombinant Cysteine Proteinase B from Leishmania braziliensis and Its Domains: Promising Antigens for Serodiagnosis of Cutaneous and Visceral Leishmaniasis in Dogs

BIVONA, A. E.; CZENTNER, L.; SANCHEZ ALBERTI, A.; CERNY, N.; CARDOSO LANDABURU, A. C.; NEVOT, C.; ESTÉVEZ, O.; MARCO, J. D.; BASOMBRIO, M. A.; MALCHIODI, E. L.; CAZORLA, S. I.

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY

Año: 2019 vol. 57

0095-1137

Leishmaniasis represents a group of parasitic diseases caused by a protozoanof the genus Leishmania and is widely distributed in tropical and subtropicalregions. Leishmaniasis is one of the major tropical neglected diseases, with 1.5 to 2million new cases occurring annually. Diagnosis remains a challenge despite advances inparasitological, serological, and molecular methods. Dogs are an important host for theparasite and develop both visceral and cutaneous lesions. Our goal was to contributeto the diagnosis of canine cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis(VL) using the recombinant cysteine proteinase B (F-CPB) from Leishmania braziliensisand its N- and C-terminal domains (N-CPB and C-CPB) as antigens in anenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera from dogs from Northwest Argentinadiagnosed with CL were tested by ELISA against a supernatant of L. braziliensislysate, the F-CPB protein, and its domains. We found values of sensitivity (Se) of90.7%, 94.4%, and 94.3% and specificity (Sp) of 95.5%, 90.9%, and 91.3% for F-CPBand its N- and C-terminal domains, respectively. In sera from dogs diagnosed withVL from Northeast Argentina, we found Se of 93.3%, 73.3%, and 66.7% and Sp of92.3%, 76.9%, and 88.5% for F-CPB and its N- and C-terminal domains, respectively.These results support CPB as a relevant antigen for canine leishmaniasis diagnosis inits different clinical presentations. More interestingly, the amino acid sequence ofCPB showed high percentages of identity in several Leishmania species, suggestingthat the CPB from L. braziliensis qualifies as a good antigen for the diagnosis ofleishmaniasis caused by different species.