Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Immunotherapy with recombinant protein helps dogs with visceral
By Ferreira, Josie Haydée Lima et al.·Published in PLoS neglected tropical diseases·2014·Departamento de Microbiologia, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Use of a recombinant cysteine proteinase from Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi for the Immunotherapy of canine visceral Leishmaniasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Thirty mongrel dogs in Brazil with visceral leishmaniasis (a serious infection caused by a parasite) were treated with a new immunotherapy using a protein called rLdccys1. The dogs receiving this treatment, along with an adjuvant, showed no worsening of symptoms like weight loss, skin lesions, or enlarged lymph nodes, and they had a significant reduction in parasite levels. In contrast, dogs that received a placebo or just the adjuvant showed severe symptoms and died within a few months. Remarkably, all dogs treated with rLdccys1 were alive a year later, suggesting this treatment could be a promising option for managing this disease.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis treatment · symptoms of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs · immunotherapy for dogs with leishmaniasis
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A recombinant cysteine proteinase from Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi (rLdccys1) was previously shown to induce protective immune responses against murine and canine visceral leishmaniasis. These findings encouraged us to use rLdccys1 in the immunotherapy of naturally infected dogs from Teresina, Piauí, a region of high incidence of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty naturally infected mongrel dogs displaying clinical signs of visceral leishmaniasis were randomly divided in three groups: one group received three doses of rLdccys1 in combination with the adjuvant Propionibacterium acnes at one month interval between each dose; a second group received three doses of P. acnes alone; a third group received saline. The main findings were: 1) dogs that received rLdccys1 with P. acnes did not display increase of the following clinical signs: weight loss, alopecia, onychogryphosis, cachexia, anorexia, apathy, skin lesions, hyperkeratosis, ocular secretion, and enlarged lymph nodes; they also exhibited a significant reduction in the spleen parasite load in comparison to the control dogs; 2) rLdccys1-treated dogs exhibited a significant delayed type cutaneous hypersensitivity elicited by the recombinant antigen, as well as high IgG2 serum titers and low IgG1 serum titers; sera from rLdccys1-treated dogs also contained high IFN-γ and low IL-10 concentrations; 3) control dogs exhibited all of the clinical signs of visceral leishmaniasis and had low serum IgG2 and IFN-γ levels and high concentrations of IgG1 and IL-10; 4) all of the dogs treated with rLdccys1 were alive 12 months after treatment, whereas dogs which received either saline or P. acnes alone died within 3 to 7 months. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings illustrate the potential use of rLdccys1 as an additional tool for the immunotherapy of canine visceral leishmaniasis and support further studies designed to improve the efficacy of this recombinant antigen for the treatment of this neglected disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24625516/