Leptospirosis is a zoonosis caused by pathogenic bacteria of the genus Leptospira. This disease affects several animals and humans. Symptoms of leptospirosis can range from mild to severe, may in some cases lead to death. For the diagnosis of leptospirosis, the microscopic agglutination test is considered the “gold standard”; however, it has limitations and studies are being conducted to develop alternative methods of screening and diagnosis of leptospirosis. Serological and immunochemical tests using Leptospira recombinant antigens in combination to molecular tests may be an alternative. In this study, we reported the advances achieved from 2014 until 2020 in controlling leptospirosis based on serological tests using recombinant antigens and molecular diagnosis.
ErpY-like protein (LIC11966) is an antigen from Leptospira spp., which is possibly involved in the infection process and, consequently, can be a promising solution for the development of new diagnostic tests and vaccines. Here, the presence of the erpY-like gene was evaluated in several Leptospira serovars by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the ErpY-like recombinant protein was produced and characterized in terms of antigenicity and immunogenicity in vivo. The erpY-like gene was detected by PCR in all Leptospira pathogenic serovars tested (n = 8) and was absent in the saprophytic ones. The rErpY-like protein was recognized by antibodies present in the sera of humans and animals (swine and canine) naturally infected, suggesting ErpY-like expression during natural infection. The rErpY-like protein used to immunize mice with Freund’s adjuvant stimulated a mixed Th1/Th2 response, an important protective immunity against leptospirosis
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