Diagnostics development for the neglected parasitic diseases strongyloidiasis and visceral leishmaniasis

For Leishmania urine antigen discovery, antibodies were used to capture parasite antigens from VL urine, which were then identified by mass spectrometry. For Leishmania IgG1 serology, paired sera from preand post-treatment (cured) VL were compared with relapse sera in ELISA and with novel IgG1 specific rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). This work identified over 40 candidate coproantigens of Strongyloides that satisfied the required characteristics.

Seven L. donovani proteins were identified in VL urine, within which 22 protein sequences were indicated as having high epitope potential and specificity to L. donovani. In VL serology, IgG1 was able to differentiate between cure and relapse of VL in both ELISA and RDT assays. With development and optimisation, the candidate antigens and IgG1 assays presented here have potential to contribute to disease control for these parasitic infections.

The computational method of antigen selection used here for S. stercoralis can be applied to multiple parasitic helminth infections using the wealth of open access ‘omic’ data.