Abstract
BackgroundLeptospirosis is a widespread zoonotic disease worldwide. The lack of an adequate laboratory test is a major barrier for diagnosis, especially during the early stages of illness, when antibiotic therapy is most effective. Therefore, there is a critical need for an efficient diagnostic test for this life threatening disease.MethodologyIn order to identify new targets that could be used as diagnostic makers for leptopirosis, we constructed a protein microarray chip comprising 61% of Leptospira interrogans proteome and investigated the IgG response from 274 individuals, including 80 acute-phase, 80 convalescent-phase patients and 114 healthy control subjects from regions with endemic, high endemic, and no endemic transmission of leptospirosis. A nitrocellulose line blot assay was performed to validate the accuracy of the protein microarray results.Principal findingsWe found 16 antigens that can discriminate between acute cases and healthy individuals from a region with high endemic transmission of leptospirosis, and 18 antigens that distinguish convalescent cases. Some of the antigens identified in this study, such as LipL32, the non-identical domains of the Lig proteins, GroEL, and Loa22 are already known to be recognized by sera from human patients, thus serving as proof-of-concept for the serodiagnostic antigen discovery approach. Several novel antigens were identified, including the hypothetical protein LIC10215 which showed good sensitivity and specificity rates for both acute- and convalescent-phase patients.ConclusionsOur study is the first large-scale evaluation of immunodominant antigens associated with naturally acquired leptospiral infection, and novel as well as known serodiagnostic leptospiral antigens that are recognized by antibodies in the sera of leptospirosis cases were identified. The novel antigens identified here may have potential use in both the development of new tests and the improvement of currently available assays for diagnosing this neglected tropical disease. Further research is needed to assess the utility of these antigens in more deployable diagnostic platforms.
Highlights
Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic infectious diseases worldwide
Our study is the first large-scale evaluation of immunodominant antigens associated with naturally acquired leptospiral infection, and novel as well as known serodiagnostic leptospiral antigens that are recognized by antibodies in the sera of leptospirosis cases were identified
To evaluate the feasibility of this approach for leptospirosis, we identified a subset of proteome more likely to be immunoreactive
Summary
Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic infectious diseases worldwide. Humans usually become infected through occupational, recreational or domestic contact with the urine of reservoir animals, either directly or through contaminated soil or water [1,2,3]. Pathogenic leptospires frequently produce an asymptomatic infection in wild rodents and other reservoirs; in humans and other accidental hosts, it can cause hepato-renal failure, pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome and even death depending on bacterial virulence and the host immune response [1,2]. Such complications can be prevented if the proper antibiotic therapy is initiated at the onset of the disease [3,4,5,6]. There is a critical need for an efficient diagnostic test for this life threatening disease
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