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Infection and Immunity, December 1999, p. 6663-6669, Vol. 67, No. 12
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Differential Decline in Leishmania Membrane Antigen-Specific Immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, IgE, and IgG Subclass Antibodies in Indian Kala-Azar Patients after Chemotherapy

Khairul Anam,1 Farhat Afrin,1 Dwijadas Banerjee,2 Netai Pramanik,2 Subhasis K. Guha,2 Rama P. Goswami,2 Shiben K. Saha,2 and Nahid Ali1,*

Leishmania Group, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology,1 and Department of Tropical Medicine, School of Tropical Medicine,2 Calcutta 700032, India

Received 22 July 1999/Accepted 31 August 1999

Pathogenesis in kala-azar is associated with depressed cellular immunity and significant elevation of antileishmanial antibodies. Since these antibodies are present even after cure, analysis of the parasite-specific isotypes and immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclasses in kala-azar patients may shed new light on the immune responses during progression and resolution of infection. Using leishmanial membrane antigenic extracts, we investigated the relative levels of specific IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE, and IgG subclasses in Indian kala-azar patient sera during disease, drug resistance, and cure. Acute-phase sera showed strong stimulation of IgG, followed by IgE and IgM and lastly by IgA antibodies. IgG subclass analysis revealed expression of all of the subclasses, with a predominance of IgG1 during disease. Following sodium stibogluconate (SAG) resistance, the levels of IgG, IgM, IgE, and IgG4 remained constant, while there was a decrease in the titers of IgG2 and IgG3. In contrast, a significant (2.2-fold) increase in IgG1 was observed in these individuals. Cure, in both SAG-responsive and unresponsive patients, correlated with a decline in the levels of IgG, IgM, IgE, and all of the IgG subclasses. The stimulation of IgG1 and the persistence, most importantly, of IgE and IgG4 following drug resistance, along with a decline in IgE, IgG4, and IgG1 with cure, demonstrate the potential of these isotypes as possible markers for monitoring effective treatment in kala-azar.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4, Raja S. C. Mullick Rd., Calcutta 700032, India. Phone: 91-33-473-3491/0492/6793. Fax: 91-33-473-0284/5197. E-mail: IICHBIO{at}GIASCL01.VSNL.NET.IN.

Infection and Immunity, December 1999, p. 6663-6669, Vol. 67, No. 12
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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