title: [Identification of an immunodominant antigen of Mycobacterium leprae and its application for the development of protective measures].
abstract: Host defense against Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae) is chiefly conducted by cellular immunity. The adaptive immunity plays an important role, and T cells are activated through recognition of some immunodominant antigens of M. leprae. A search for an immunodominant antigen was carried out using human peripheral monocytes-derived dendritic cells and M. leprae-derived cell membrane fraction which is the most antigenic fraction of the bacteria, and Major Membrane Protein (MMP)-II was found as one of the immunodoninant antigens. The MMP-II highly stimulated both dendritic cells and macrophages to produce various cytokines. Further, MMP-II was recognized by T cells in vivo in patients infected with M. leprae. Then, we constructed a recombinant BCG secreting MMP-II. The recombinant BCG strongly stimulated both naive CD4+ and naive CD8+ T cells, and seemed to be a useful immunostimulatory agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, leprosy Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan. mmaki@nih.go.jp
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makino
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007918:Leprosy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000276:immunology; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; C065036:antigen 85, Mycobacterium bovis; C500901:major membrane protein II, Mycobacterium leprae