Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology Multicomponent Chimeric Antigen for Serodiagnosis of

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 LiP2a, LiP2b, and LiP0 and from the histone H2A. The resulting gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli either as a fusion protein (with the 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 assay (ELISA) and Western blotting experiments confirmed that the corresponding epitopes are present in the engineered protein. Finally, a serological evaluation of this multiple-epitope protein by Falcon assay screening test-ELISA revealed a sensitivity of 79 to 93 % and a specificity of 96 to 100 % in diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis, indicating that this protein represents a valuable tool for serodiagnosis. Leishmaniases are a spectrum of diseases having a world-wide distribution that are caused by different species of the genus Leishmania. Leishmania infantum, distributed in many areas of the Mediterranean basin, causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in both humans and dogs. In fact, Leishmania-infected dogs are the main animal reservoir of the parasite, particularl