Leishmania donovani: isolation of a Concanavalin-A specific antigen and its evaluation for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis

Abstract

A glycoconjugate antigen of 27–39 kDa was isolated from a cell-free extract of Leishmania donovani by affinity chromatography using a Concanavalin-A sepharose-4B column and eluted with 0·5 M α-methylmannoside. The antigen was recognized specifically by sera from kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis) patients and did not react with sera from tuberculosis, leprosy or malaria patients. The antigen may therefore be useful in developing a serodiagnostic assay for visceral leishmaniasis.