Kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (KMP-11), a protein present in all kinetoplastid
protozoa studied up to date, is considered a potential vaccine candidate for Leishmaniasis.
Such vaccine molecules must be expressed in amastigotes which represent t
he infective
forms for mammals, while promastigotes are the flagellate forms found in the insect hosts.
However, the expression of KMP-11 in amastigotes is still a subject of controversy. In this
study, a strain of L. tropica was isolated, cultivated, and genotyped. The expression of
KMP-11 gene in this strain was evaluated in promastigotes and in amastigotes by RT-PCR
using specific primer pairs. The results proved the presence of mRNA of KMP-11 in both
promastigotes and amastigotes forms of L. tropica. The expression of this molecule in
amastigotes is consistent with the previously demonstrated immunoprotective capacity of
KMP-11 DNA vaccine as well as the presence of humoral and cellular immune responses
against KMP-11 in Leishmania-infected animals.
The parasitic antigens are of great interest in immune responses and in the
strategies for developing vaccines. The aim of this study was to identify the
major antigens which are expressed in the two leishmania tropica stages,
promastigote & amast
igote, employing the western blot analysis using the sera
collected from mice immunized with the above mentioned parasite stages' total
protein.
