title: Towards an immunodiagnostic test for leprosy.
abstract: In addition to multidrug therapy, elimination of leprosy requires improved diagnostic methods. Using a comparative genomics approach, 17 potential protein antigens (MLP) that are restricted to Mycobacterium leprae, or of limited distribution, were produced and tested for antigen-specific immune responses on leprosy patients, healthy contacts of leprosy patients, and tuberculosis patients in Mali and Bangladesh, as well as on non-endemic controls. T-cell antigenicity of MLP was confirmed by IFN-gamma production in whole-blood assays with the highest responses observed in paucibacillary leprosy patients and healthy contacts. Four MLP behaved well in both countries and induced significantly different responses between the study groups. Peptides carrying T cell epitopes from one of the antigens gave promising results in restimulation assays in mice and immune responses were not influenced by prior exposure to BCG or environmental mycobacteria. This study provides the immunological framework for the development of a specific, peptide-based immunodiagnostic test for leprosy.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Moléculaire Bactérienne, Institut Pasteur, 28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Romulo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aráoz
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Honoré
authors.forename: Sayera
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Banu
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Demangel
authors.forename: Yakouba
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cissoko
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arama
authors.forename: Mohammad Khaja Mafij
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Uddin
authors.forename: S K Abdul
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hadi
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monot
authors.forename: Sang-Nae
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Baohong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Samba
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sow
authors.forename: Stewart T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cole
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007159:Immunologic Tests / Q000379:methods*; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D010455:Peptides; D007371:Interferon-gamma