SSG along with KLD/78kDa antigen +MPL-in inbred BALB/c mice

Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a disease of poor and neglected populations; it affects 79 countries of the world and accounts 58,000 new cases to each year. However, no effective treatment for cure of the disease is yet available. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the curative efficacy of single dose of sodium stibogluconate in combination with Killed Leishmania donovani (KLD) antigen/78kDa antigen along with MPL-A in murine visceral leishmaniasis. After 30 days infection, infected mice were treated with a single dose of chemotherapy or immunochemotherapy. These animals were then sacrificed after 30 days post treatment and determined for hepatic parasite load and their immunological profile. It was observed that animals treated with a combination of SSG and immunotherapy not only reduced the parasite load but the immune profile was shifted to protective Th1 type (elevated levels of IFN-gamma and IL-2 were observed) of immune response. Hence our study lay emphasis on the use of short course (single dose) combination therapy of SSG and 78kDa/KLD along with MPL-A.