MULTICOMPONENT CHIMERIC ANTIGEN FOR SERODIAGNOSIS OF CANINE VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS

In this work, we describe the assembly of a synthetic gene coding for several antigenic determinants found in different Leishmania infantum antigens, Selected epitopes were derived from the ribosomal proteins L iP2a, LiP2b, and LiPO and from the histone H2A. The resulting gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli either as a fusion protein (with th e vector pMAL-c2) or alone (with the vector pQE), In both cases, high- level bacterial production of the recombinant protein was achieved and the products were found to be stable. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent ass ay (ELISA) and Western blotting experiments confirmed that the corresp onding epitopes are present in the engineered protein, Finally, a sero logical evaluation of this multiple-epitope protein by Falcon assay sc reening test-ELISA revealed a sensitivity of 79 to 93% and a specifici ty of 96 to 100% in diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis, indica ting that this protein represents a valuable tool for serodiagnosis.