title: Antigen-specific assessment of the immunological status of various groups in a leprosy endemic region.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Serological tests can be important tools to assist in the diagnosis of leprosy and can contribute to an earlier diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibody responses against phenolic glycolipid-1 (PGL-1), natural disaccharide linked to human serum albumin via an octyl (NDO-HSA), Leprosy IDRI Diagnostic-1 (LID-1) and natural disaccharide octyl--Leprosy IDRI Diagnostic-1 (NDO-LID) in leprosy patients, household contacts of patients and the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to analyze the antigen-specific antibody responses of 94 leprosy cases, 104 household contacts of cases and 2.494 individuals from the general population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A positive correlation was observed for the antibody responses to all antigens studied. A higher proportion of seropositivity for all antigens, along with stronger magnitude of response, was observed in multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients and household contacts of MB leprosy patients compared with the levels observed in paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients and household contacts of PB leprosy patients. A substantial and significant positive correlation was found between seropositivity and the bacterial index for the leprosy patients. Anti-PGL-1 tests were more frequently positive than anti-NDO-HSA tests among patients with all clinical forms of leprosy and among the group of household contacts. The LID-1 and NDO-LID antigens showed a greater capacity to identify household contacts and individuals from the general population infected with M. leprae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tests that measure the antibody responses against LID-1, NDO-LID, NDO-HSA and PGL-1 were effective tools for the detection of patients with MB leprosy. Our data indicate that the anti-LID-1 and anti-NDO-LID responses were more effective than an anti-NDO-HSA response for the identification of individuals with subclinical infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Nursing, Faculdade de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. angelicafabri@yahoo.com.br.|Postgraduate Program in Nursing, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. angelicafabri@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Angélica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: da Conceição Oliveira Coelho Fabri
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Nursing, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. anapaulamendescarvalho@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Ana Paula Mendes
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: National Reference Center for Sanitary Dermatology and Leprosy - CREDESH, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia - UFU, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. sergiooxwide@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Biochemistry, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia - UFU, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. lrgoulart@ufu.br.|Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA. lrgoulart@ufu.br.
authors.forename: Luiz Ricardo
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Goulart
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Biological Science - Immunology and Infectious Parasitic Disease, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. anamarciamattos@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Ana Márcia Menezes
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Mattos
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Microbiology and Immunology, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora - UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil. henrique.teixeira@ufjf.edu.br.
authors.forename: Henrique Couto
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.affiliation: National Reference Center for Sanitary Dermatology and Leprosy - CREDESH, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia - UFU, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. isagoulart@centershop.com.br.
authors.forename: Isabela Maria Bernardes
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Goulart
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA. malcolm.duthie@idri.org.
authors.forename: Malcolm S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Duthie
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Nursing, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. correa@cpqrr.fiocruz.br.|Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou - CPqRR, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - FIOCRUZ, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. correa@cpqrr.fiocruz.br.|Laboratory of Immunology, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto - UFOP, Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil. correa@cpqrr.fiocruz.br.|Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais - INCT-DT, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. correa@cpqrr.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Correa-Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Program in Nursing, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. xicolana@ufmg.br.|Department of Maternal and Child Nursing and Public Health, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. xicolana@ufmg.br.
authors.forename: Francisco Carlos Félix
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Lana
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections; D001938:Brazil; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007918:Leprosy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D056006:Leprosy, Multibacillary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D056005:Leprosy, Paucibacillary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000276:immunology*; D012698:Serologic Tests
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D006017:Glycolipids; C045169:phenolic glycolipid I, Mycobacterium leprae