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Immunological Crossreactivity of the Mycobacterium leprae CFP‐10 with its Homologue in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Author(s) -
Geluk A.,
Van Meijgaarden K. E.,
Franken K. L. M. C.,
Wieles B.,
Arend S. M.,
Faber W. R.,
Naafs B.,
Ottenhoff T. H. M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.0300-9475.2004.01358.x
Subject(s) - mycobacterium leprae , mycobacterium bovis , tuberculosis , antigen , mycobacterium tuberculosis , microbiology and biotechnology , leprosy , mycobacterium , virology , biology , mycobacterium marinum , immunology , medicine , pathology
Abstract Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture filtrate protein‐10 (CFP‐10) (Rv3874) is considered a promising antigen for the immunodiagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) together with early secreted antigens of M. tuberculosis (ESAT‐6). Both ESAT‐6 and CFP‐10 are encoded by the RD1 region that is deleted from all tested M. bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) strains but present in M. leprae , M. tuberculosis , M. bovis , M. kansasii , M. africanum and M. marinum . In this study, the homologue of CFP‐10 in M. leprae (ML0050) is identified and characterized. Interferon‐γ production in response to this homologue by T cells from leprosy patients, TB patients and unexposed controls shows that CFP‐10 of M. leprae is a potent antigen that crossreacts with CFP‐10 of M. tuberculosis at the T‐cell level. This crossreactivity has implications for the use of CFP‐10 of these mycobacterial species as diagnostic tool in areas endemic for both the diseases.