Title:A Review on the use of Synthetic and Recombinant Antigens for the
Immunodiagnosis of Tegumentary Leishmaniasis
Volume: 31
Issue: 30
Author(s): Kamila Alves Silva, Anna Júlia Ribeiro, Isadora Braga Gandra, Carlos Ananias Aparecido Resende, Lucas da Silva Lopes, Carolina Alves Petit Couto, Verônica de Araujo Freire, Isabelle Caroline Santos Barcelos, Sabrina Paula Pereira, Sandra Rodrigues Xavier, Mariana Campos da Paz, Rodolfo Cordeiro Giunchetti, Miguel Angel Chávez-Fumagalli, Ana Alice Maia Gonçalves, Eduardo Antonio Ferraz Coelho and Alexsandro Sobreira Galdino*
Affiliation:
- Laboratório de Biotecnologia de Microrganismos, Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de
Sao Joao Del-Rei (UFSJ), Campus Centro Oeste, Divinópolis, 35501-296, Minas Gerais, Brasil
Keywords:
Tegumentary leishmaniasis, diagnosis, recombinant protein, recombinant multiepitope protein, synthetic peptide, etiologic agents.
Abstract: Improving the diagnostic technology used to detect tegumentary leishmaniasis
(TL) is essential in view of it being a widespread, often neglected tropical disease,
with cases reported from the Southern United States to Northern Argentina. Recombinant
proteins, recombinant multiepitope proteins, and synthetic peptides have been extensively
researched and used in disease diagnosis. One of the benefits of applying these
antigens is a measurable increase in sensitivity and specificity, which improves test accuracy.
The present review aims to describe the use of these antigens and their diagnostic
effectiveness. With that in mind, a bibliographic survey was conducted on the PudMed
platform using the search terms “tegumentary leishmaniasis” AND “diagno”, revealing
that recombinant proteins have been described and evaluated for their value in TL diagnosis
since the 1990s. However, there was a spike in the number of publications using
all of the antigens between 2013 and 2022, confirming an expansion in research efforts
to improve diagnosis. Moreover, all of the studies involving different antigens had
promising results, including improved sensitivity and specificity. These data recognize
the importance of doing research with new technologies focused on developing quick,
more effective diagnostic kits as early diagnosis facilitates treatment.