ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serodiagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary TB (EPTB). This assay used 20 amino acid-long, non-overlapped synthetic peptides that spanned the complete Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESAT-6 and Ag85A sequences. The validation cohort consisted of 1,102 individuals who were grouped into the following five diagnostic groups: 455 patients with PTB, 60 patients with EPTB, 40 individuals with non-EPTB, 33 individuals with leprosy and 514 healthy controls. For the PTB group, two ESAT-6 peptides (12033 and 12034) had the highest sensitivity levels of 96.9% and 96.2%, respectively, and an Ag85A-peptide (29878) was the most specific (97.4%) in the PTB groups. For the EPTB group, two Ag85A peptides (11005 and 11006) were observed to have a sensitivity of 98.3% and an Ag85A-peptide (29878) was also the most specific (96.4%). When combinations of peptides were used, such as 12033 and 12034 or 11005 and 11006, 99.5% and 100% sensitivities in the PTB and EPTB groups were observed, respectively. In conclusion, for a cohort that consists entirely of individuals from Venezuela, a multi-antigen immunoassay using highly sensitive ESAT-6 and Ag85A peptides alone and in combination could be used to more rapidly diagnose PTB and EPTB infection.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Antigens, Bacterial , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/immunology , Peptides , Tuberculosis/diagnosis , Antigens, Bacterial/immunology , Case-Control Studies , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Peptides/immunology , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/diagnosis , Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/immunology , Tuberculosis/immunologyABSTRACT
Objective: To clone the Ag85 A antigen gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and express it in E. coli k802. Methods: The Ag85 A gene was amplified from the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by PCR and was inserted into prokaryotic expressing vector pGEX5T to construct pGEX5T-Ag85A recombinant plasmid. The expression of Ag85A protein in E. coli k802 was induced by IPTG. The expressed protein was purified by affinity chromatography and the antigenicity of the expressed protein was confirmed by Western blotting assay. Results: A band about 0.9 kb in length was obtained by PCR and the recombinant plasmid pGEX5T-Ag85A was successfully constructed. A new band about 58 000 in length was observed after IPTG induction in E. coli. The relative molecular weight of the expressed protein was consistent with that expected. A single protein band of 58 000 in length was obtained after purification. The expressed protein could be specifically recognized by the sera of patients with tuberculosis patients. Conclusion: The Ag85A gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been successfully cloned and expressed in E. coli k802, which paves a way for further studies on diagnosis and therapy of tuberculosis.