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Synthetic peptide issued from Hap1/LipL32 for new early serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis
F Aviat1, S Rochereau-Roulet, C Branger
1Unité de Bactériologie Médicale et Moléculaire des Leptospires, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Nantes, BP 40 706, 44 307 Nantes Cedex 03, France. florence_aviat@yahoo.fr
Abstract:
Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis. Today, serological diagnosis is generally assessed by MAT. We performed ELISA with a synthetic peptide derived from Hap1/lipL32 which is a protein expressed only by pathogenic Leptospira. Repeatability and thresholds were defined with 85 controls sera and 119 hospitalized leptospirosis. The PP-ELISA repeatability and IgM/IgG cut-off values were based on control sera. For these cut-off values, we observed the IgM-PP-ELISA specificity of 89%, whereas it was 100% for the IgG. Then, we compared PP-ELISA and standard MAT results for leptospirosis patients. The concordance rate for IgM-PP-ELISA and MAT was low (43%), whereas it was 85% for IgG-PP-ELISA and MAT. During the first 5 days after hospitalization, PP-ELISA gave positive results in 13 out of 16 patients (81%) whereas 8 out of 14 patients (57%) were positive to MAT. ELISA using Hap1/lipL 32-derived synthetic peptide PP is an earlier serological diagnosis of human leptospirosis than MAT.
Insights
A new ELISA test using a synthetic peptide from pathogenic Leptospira offers earlier serological diagnosis of leptospirosis. This peptide-based ELISA shows higher sensitivity in early disease stages compared to the standard MAT test.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Microbiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Leptospirosis is a significant global zoonotic disease.
- Current serological diagnosis relies heavily on the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT).
- There is a need for more sensitive and earlier diagnostic methods for leptospirosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) using a synthetic peptide derived from the pathogenic Leptospira protein Hap1/lipL32.
- To compare the diagnostic performance of this peptide-based ELISA (PP-ELISA) with the standard MAT for human leptospirosis.
- To determine if PP-ELISA allows for earlier detection of leptospirosis.
Main Methods:
- Developed and validated a PP-ELISA using a synthetic peptide from Hap1/lipL32.
- Defined repeatability and cut-off values using 85 control sera and 119 hospitalized leptospirosis patient sera.
- Compared PP-ELISA results (IgM and IgG) with standard MAT results in leptospirosis patients.
Main Results:
- IgM-PP-ELISA showed 89% specificity, while IgG-PP-ELISA demonstrated 100% specificity.
- Concordance between IgM-PP-ELISA and MAT was low (43%), but IgG-PP-ELISA showed high concordance with MAT (85%).
- PP-ELISA detected leptospirosis in 81% of patients within the first 5 days of hospitalization, compared to 57% with MAT.
Conclusions:
- Peptide-based ELISA (PP-ELISA) using Hap1/lipL32 offers a promising alternative for leptospirosis diagnosis.
- PP-ELISA facilitates earlier serological diagnosis of human leptospirosis compared to the conventional MAT.
- The high specificity of IgG-PP-ELISA and its early detection capability are significant advantages.
