Recognition of phenolic glycolipid-I (Mycobacterium leprae) and sulfolipid-I (M. tuberculosis) by serum from Mexican patients with leprosy or tuberculosis.
METHODS
Differential diagnosis of leprosy and tuberculosis in regions where both illnesses are endemic is a prerequisite for proper identification and treatment.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the recognition of phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I) of Mycobacterium leprae and sulfolipid-I (SL-I) of M. tuberculosis by serum from patients with leprosy (LL) or pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).


METHODS
Purified PGL-I and SL-I were used as antigens in an ELISA test set up to assess recognition of these lipids by serum from 43 LL patients, 44 PTB patients and 38 healthy individuals.


RESULTS
Leprosy patients gave higher IgM than IgG responses to PGL-I and had comparable IgM and IgG responses to SL-I. A similar situation was observed with PTB serum. Some healthy individuals were found to contain significant levels of antibodies to both lipids.


CONCLUSIONS
There is no specific recognition of either of the two lipid antigens tested by serum from both leprosy and tuberculosis patients; this rules out the possibility of using PGL-I and SL-I as tools for the differential diagnosis of these two mycobacterial diseases.
Rojas-Espinosa
O
O
Departamento de Inmunología, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico, DF. oscar_rojas@mail.internet.com.mx
Luna-Herrera
J
J
Arce-Paredes
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis*
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M