Dogs vaccinated with gentamicin-attenuated Leishmania infantum or infected with wild-type parasite can be distinguished by Western blotting

Daneshvar, H., Mahmmodi, Z., Kamiabi, H., Phillips, R. S. and Burchmore, R. (2014) Dogs vaccinated with gentamicin-attenuated Leishmania infantum or infected with wild-type parasite can be distinguished by Western blotting. Parasite Immunology, 36(5), pp. 218-224. (doi: 10.1111/pim.12108)

Abstract

An attenuated line of Leishmania infantum (the H-line), developed through exposure to gentamicin, has been shown to protect dogs against canine visceral leishmaniasis. A specific diagnostic test to differentiate dogs vaccinated with the attenuated line from dogs infected with L. infantum wild-type (L. infantum WT) could be a valuable tool in evaluating the effectiveness of canine vaccination. In this study, 28 healthy dogs were allocated into four groups. In Group I and Group II (eight dogs per group), dogs were immunized subcutaneously (s.c.) with L. infantum H-line, and the dogs of Group II challenged s.c. with L. infantum WT, at 2 months post-immunization. In Group III, eight animals were challenged s.c. with L. infantum WT, and four dogs of Group IV were injected s.c. with PBS. We found that sera from vaccinated dogs recognize a 21 kDa antigen of promastigotes of L. infantum H-line but not of L. infantum WT, whereas sera from unvaccinated dogs challenged with L. infantum WT, recognized a 21 kDa antigen of promastigotes of L. infantum WT but not of L. infantum H-line. Sera from dogs challenged with L. infantum WT with prior vaccination with L. infantum H-line, recognized a 21 kDa antigen of both L. infantum WT and L. infantum H-line. These results suggest that the Western blot analysis of antibodies against 21 kDa antigens of L. infantum H-line and WT may be a useful technique for distinguishing between dogs vaccinated with L. infantum H-line and dogs naturally infected with L. infantum WT.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Burchmore, Dr Richard and Phillips, Mr Ross
• Authors: Daneshvar, H., Mahmmodi, Z., Kamiabi, H., Phillips, R. S., and Burchmore, R.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Parasite Immunology
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• ISSN: 0141-9838
• ISSN (Online): 3024