Interferon-gamma release assay (modified QuantiFERON) as a potential marker of infection for Leishmania donovani, a proof of concept study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In areas endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a large number of infected individuals mount a protective cellular immune response and remain asymptomatic carriers. We propose an interferon-gamma release assay (IFN-γRA) as a novel marker for latent L. donovani infection.

Methods and findings

We modified a commercial kit (QuantiFERON) evaluating five different leishmania-specific antigens; H2B, H2B-PSA2, H2B-Lepp12, crude soluble antigen (CSA) and soluble leishmania antigen (SLA) from L. donovani with the aim to detect the cell-mediated immune response in VL. We evaluated the assay on venous blood samples of active VL patients (n = 13), cured VL patients (n = 15), non-endemic healthy controls (n = 11) and healthy endemic controls (n = 19). The assay based on SLA

SUBMITTER: Gidwani K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3079582 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature