title: Phenolic glycolipid-1 (PGL-1) in Buruli ulcer lesions. First demonstration by immuno-histochemistry.
abstract: Buruli ulcer, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is emerging as the third most common mycobacterial disease after leprosy and tuberculosis in some tropical regions. Although a toxin of the polyketide family is central to the pathogenesis of the disease, there are still several parameters that need clarification. Among them and of crucial interest are the curative drug treatment and the test for early detection of the disease. In this study, we used mouse monoclonal antibodies, raised against synthetic sugars of the terminal trisaccharide of M. leprae PGL-1, to detect the immunoreactivity of this antigen in tissue infected with M. ulcerans. Thirty specimens of skin tissue from Buruli ulcer patients (3 plaques, 10 nodules, 1 ulcerated nodule, 7 deep ulcer beds and 9 ulcers in healing) were obtained from Ghana. Eighty-three percent of the submitted cases were compatible with the lesions of Buruli ulcer. AFB were positive in 33% of plaques, 40% of nodules, 44% of actives ulcers and 22% of the ulcer in healing stage. Immunohistochemically, phenolic glycolipid-1 (PGL-1) was detected in all AFB-positive cases. This observation implies that Mycobacterium ulcerans may express an M. leprae PGL-1-like substance and should tentatively emulate research to further characterize such a substance. The search for an early diagnostic tool for the Buruli disease may benefit from such investigations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nippon Medical School, Bunkyo-ku, Sendagi 1-15, Tokyo 113-0022, Japan. milanga/patho2@nms.ac.jp
authors.forename: Milanga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mwanatambwe
authors.forename: Mikihisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yajima
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Etuaful
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukunishi
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Kingsley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asiedu
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Goro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Asanao
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D005869:Ghana; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000378:metabolism*; D019911:Mycobacterium ulcerans
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae