Analysis of immune responses in dogs with canine visceral leishmaniasis before, and after, drug treatment

Abdelkebir Rhalem*, Hamid Sahibi, Saâdia Lasri, Charles L. Jaffe

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

The incidence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is increasing in the Mediterranean region. Many drugs have been tested for treatment of CVL, but little is known regarding their effect on test immune responses. In our study, three dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum and five dogs experimentally infected with the same strain, were treated with dimethasulfonate pentamidine (Lomidine) and the immune response evaluated before, and after, treatment. After the last injection, animals began to gain weight and the major clinical signs disappeared. Antibody titers gradually decreased to low levels, six months after treatment. At the same time, antigen specific lymphoproliferation reappeared in the sampled animals. This study shows that, after treatment, immune cellular responses to leishmanial antigens, involved in protection against Leishmania infection, were established. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)69-76
Number of pages8
JournalVeterinary Immunology and Immunopathology
Volume71
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 1999

Keywords

  • Dimethasulfonate pentamidine
  • Dog
  • Immunity
  • Leishmania infantum
  • Treatment

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