Utility of Western Blot Analysis for the Diagnosis of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease with a relatively wide distribution in different areas of the world, including Iran. The parasite is mainly diagnosed microscopically, but serological approaches might be useful for diagnosis as well. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of an immunoblotting system for serodiagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Iran. METHODS: Sixty-one sera samples from parasitologically confirmed CL patients and 50 sera samples from healthy controls along with 50 sera sample from non-CL patients were collected. Native strain of Leishmania major was cultured in Schneider medium and soluble Leishmania antigens were prepared from amastigotes-like parasites. All of sera samples were evaluated by an immunoblotting system. RESULTS: Components of 14 to 135 kDa were detectable by the sera of CL patients. From 61 sera of CL patients, 59 cases (96.7%) detected a 63 kDa subunit and 51 cases (83.6%) recognized a 32–35 kDa component. Among all subunits, the 63 kDa band showed the highest sensitivity (96.7%) and a 75 kDa band had the highest (98%) specificity. CONCLUSION: Immunoblotting has a satisfactory performance in diagnosis of CL and this test can be used, as an aid, for proper diagnosis of CL.