Fig. 6.

Leishmania 40S ribosomal protein S12 sandwich ELISA was able to detect the target antigen specifically in the clinical samples. a This novel ELISA detected Leishmania 40S ribosomal protein S12 antigen in lysates of PBMCs isolated from Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL, including 5 likely VL cases) and post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) patients before treatment. The A450 value differences are statistically significant (Student’s t-test); P < 0.0001 between the healthy controls and VL or PKDL patients. The dashed line is the standard cut-off value of the mean of healthy control +3SD (standard deviation). b This ELISA could detect the target antigen in lysates of PBMCs isolated from patients who were LD-body (Amastigote) negative in bone marrow or splenic biopsies, and the absorbance values for the target antigen were roughly correlated to the number of LD bodies seen in the spleen biopsies of VL patients. Open circles represent VL and likely VL cases examined by splenic aspirate; Open diamond, VL and likely VL case examined by bone marrow biopsy; Open triangle, PKDL patient confirmed by skin smear microscopy; Filled circle, healthy control