Malcolm S Duthie
Tanzania
Research Article
In Silico Identification of B-Cell Epitopes of Leishmania infantum Recombinant Histone Shared with Human Sera Stably Living in Area Where Leishmania Species Does Perpetuate
Author(s): Sami Lakhal and Malcolm S DuthieSami Lakhal and Malcolm S Duthie
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) can initially be misdiagnosed because its presentation is similar to many autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), autoimmune hepatitis and dermatomyositis. Furthermore, serum antibodies from VL patients have been shown to strongly react against proteins that are conserved between the causative agent, L. infantum, and humans themselves. Some of these proteins, like histone, have also been described as immunogenic in several auto-immune syndromes, and the detection of antibodies against them is considered to be indicative of immune system disorders.
The potential overlap of autoimmune diseases and VL presents a situation of confounding diagnoses if cross-reactive tests are used. To explore this possibility, we screened sera from three Tunisian populations for the presence, and relative quantity, of antibodies against.. View More»
