Sequential monitoring of leprosy patients with serum antibody levels to phenolic glycolipid-I, a synthetic analog of phenolic glycolipid-I, and mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan.
Sequential serum samples from leprosy patients at various stages of antibacterial treatment were tested by an ELISA for antibodies to phenolic glycolipid I (PGL-I), a synthetic PGL-I analog (ND-BSA), and lipoarabinomannan (LAM) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis to determine if these antibodies could be useful in monitoring response to therapy. Among patients with positive initial anti-PGL-I IgM, a significant decrease in this antibody was seen over time (p less than 0.01), whether assayed by PGL-I or ND-BSA. The two antigens showed good agreement in the detection of decrease in anti-PGL-I IgM. The greatest decrease was seen in patients with a high initial anti-PGL-I IgM and a high bacterial index (BI). Patients with a declining BI were seen to have generally declining antibody levels to PGL-I and to LAM; in those patients with a fluctuating BI, antibody levels were less predictable. We conclude that antibodies to PGL-I and LAM can be useful in following response to therapy in leprosy patients and that either the native PGL-I or ND-BSA can serve as antigen for the ELISA.
New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Islan 10314.
H C
HC
Meeker
G
G
Schuller-Levis
F
F
Fusco
M A
MA
Giardina-Becket
E
E
Sersen
W R
WR
Levis
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology*; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C050016:lipoarabinomannan; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae