title: Use of the immunodominant 18-kiloDalton small heat shock protein as a serological marker for exposure to Mycobacterium ulcerans.
abstract: While it is well established that proximity to wetlands is a risk factor for contracting Buruli ulcer, it is not clear what proportion of a population living in an area where the etiologic agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, is endemic is actually exposed to this disease. Immunological cross-reactivity among mycobacterial species complicates the development of a specific serological test. Among immunodominant proteins recognized by a panel of anti-M. ulcerans monoclonal antibodies, the M. ulcerans homologue of the M. leprae 18-kDa small heat shock protein (shsp) was identified. Since this shsp has no homologues in M. bovis and M. tuberculosis, we evaluated its use as a target antigen for a serological test. Anti-18-kDa shsp antibodies were frequently found in the sera of Buruli ulcer patients and of healthy household contacts but rarely found in controls from regions where the infection is not endemic. The results indicate that only a small proportion of M. ulcerans-infected individuals contract the clinical disease.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Immunology, Swiss Tropical Institute, CH 4002 Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Döbeli
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yeboah-Manu
authors.forename: Ernestina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mensah-Quainoo
authors.forename: Arno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friedlein
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soder
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rondini
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bodmer
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pluschke
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D050888:Heat-Shock Proteins, Small / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D019911:Mycobacterium ulcerans / Q000276:immunology*; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D050888:Heat-Shock Proteins, Small; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes