An immunological study of cutaneous leishmaniasis (Aleppo boil) in Syria

Leishmania parasites obtained From patients in the Damascus countryside were first cultured in vitro on a solid medium (agar with rabbit's blood) at 26 degrees C, then on RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum. An immunological study was then carried out concerning the antigens of the parasites harvested at the stationary phase which were lysed with Triton X-100. The soluble proteins were applied to a gel filtration column and gave two protein peaks, which were further separated by SDS-PAGE. The first peak contained one antigen (65 kDa), whereas the second peak contained two antigens (65 kDa and 50 kDa respectively). The two protein peaks obtained by gel filtration gave positive results in double immunodiffusion analyzer with sera obtained from patients infected with both cutaneous and visceral forms of leishmaniasis. A major surface glycoprotein (65 kDa) described in several species of Leishmania, appears to represent the major surface antigen of L. major common in Syria.