TY - JOUR T1 - A cloned antigen (recombinant K39) of Leishmania chagasi diagnostic for visceral leishmaniasis in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 patients and a prognostic indicator for monitoring patients undergoing drug therapy. AU - Houghton,R L, AU - Petrescu,M, AU - Benson,D R, AU - Skeiky,Y A, AU - Scalone,A, AU - Badaró,R, AU - Reed,S G, AU - Gradoni,L, PY - 1998/5/21/pubmed PY - 1998/5/21/medline PY - 1998/5/21/entrez SP - 1339 EP - 44 JF - The Journal of infectious diseases JO - J Infect Dis VL - 177 IS - 5 N2 - Serologic assays using crude antigens for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV)-seropositive patients have been shown to lack sensitivity and specificity, particularly in AIDS patients. Antibodies to a cloned antigen, recombinant (r) K39, of Leishmania chagasi are specific for members of the Leishmania donovani complex and have been shown to indicate active disease in immunocompetent persons. This study demonstrated that antibodies to rK39 were also detectable in HIV-seropositive patients coinfected with Leishmania infantum. Furthermore, the rK39 ELISA was more sensitive than an IFA for detecting L. infantum infections in patients with AIDS. In addition, antibody titers to rK39 in HIV-negative patients infected with L. infantum or L. chagasi declined during treatment with meglumine antimoniate or liposomal amphotericin B. In contrast, most patients who clinically relapsed showed increased antibody titers to rK39. These data demonstrate the diagnostic and prognostic utility of rK39 in detecting active visceral leishmaniasis. SN - 0022-1899 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/9593022/A_cloned_antigen__recombinant_K39__of_Leishmania_chagasi_diagnostic_for_visceral_leishmaniasis_in_human_immunodeficiency_virus_type_1_patients_and_a_prognostic_indicator_for_monitoring_patients_undergoing_drug_therapy_ L2 - https://academic.oup.com/jid/article-lookup/doi/10.1086/515289 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -