In vitro and In vivo Studies for Development of a Leishmaniasis Vaccine

摘要

The goal of this contract is to identify, characterize , and test antigens of Leishmania that could serve as candidate vaccines against cutaneous leishmaniasis. We successfully purified monoclonal antibodies from ascites by a protein G affinity chromatography method. These were employed to characterize antigens recognized by the monoclonal antibodies with Western blot methods. Attempts to assess whether the monoclonal antibodies were directed to carbohydrate moieties could not be undertaken since we found that antibodies nonspecifically adsorbed metabolically-labeled antigens. Using a radioimmunoassay that we developed, we attempted to detect leishmanial antigens expressed on the surface of P388D1 cells infected with L. major. Keywords: Promastigotes; Macrophages; Antileishmanial drugs. (AW)