Serodiagnostic potential of immuno-PCR using a cocktail of mycobacterial antigen 85B, ESAT-6 and cord factor in tuberculosis patients.

A novel indirect immuno-polymerase chain reaction (I-PCR) assay was developed for the detection of circulating anti-Ag85B (antigen 85B, Rv1886c), anti-ESAT-6 (early secretory antigenic target-6, Rv3875) and anti-cord factor (trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate) antibodies from the sera samples of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) patients and the results were compared with an analogous enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We covalently attached the amino-modified reporter DNA to the dithiothreitol (DTT)-reduced anti-human IgG antibody through a chemical linker succinimidyl 4-[N-maleimidomethyl]-cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC). The detection of cocktail of anti-Ag85B, anti-ESAT-6 and anti-cord factor antibodies was found to be superior to the detection of individual antibodies. The sensitivities of 89.5% and 77.5% with I-PCR and 70.8% and 65% with ELISA were observed in smear-positive and smear-negative PTB cases, respectively with high specificity (90.9%). On the other hand, a sensitivity of 77.5% with I-PCR and 65% with ELISA was observed in EBTB cases. The detection of cocktail of antibodies by I-PCR is likely to improve the utility of existing algorithms for TB diagnosis.

A unique role of the cholera toxin A1-DD adjuvant for long-term plasma and memory B cell development.

Adjuvants have traditionally been appreciated for their immunoenhancing effects, whereas their impact on immunological memory has largely been neglected. In this paper, we have compared three mechanistically distinct adjuvants: aluminum salts (Alum), Ribi (monophosphoryl lipid A), and the cholera toxin A1 fusion protein CTA1-DD. Their influence on long-term memory development was dramatically different. Whereas a single immunization i.p. with 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl acetyl (NP)-chicken γ-globulin and adjuvant stimulated serum anti-NP IgG titers that were comparable at 5 wk, CTA1-DD-adjuvanted responses were maintained for >16 mo with a half-life of anti-NP IgG ∼36 wk, but <15 wk after Ribi or Alum. A CTA1-DD dose-dependent increase in germinal center (GC) size and numbers was found, with >60% of splenic B cell follicles hosting GC at an optimal CTA1-DD dose. Roughly 7% of these GC were NP specific. This GC-promoting effect correlated well with the persistence of long-term plasma cells in the bone marrow and memory B cells in the spleen. CTA1-DD also facilitated increased somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation of NP-specific IgG Abs in a dose-dependent fashion, hence arguing that large GC not only promotes higher Ab titers but also high-quality Ab production. Adoptive transfer of splenic CD80(+), but not CD80(-), B cells, at 1 y after immunization demonstrated functional long-term anti-NP IgG and IgM memory cells. To our knowledge, this is the first report to specifically compare and document that adjuvants can differ considerably in their support of long-term immune responses. Differential effects on the GC reaction appear to be the basis for these differences.

6,6'-Dimycoloyl trehalose from a rapidly growing Mycobacterium: an alternative antigen for tuberculosis serodiagnosis.

Mycobacterial O-acyltrehaloses have been described as highly specific and sensitive reagents for tuberculosis immunodiagnosis. An O-acyltrehalose-containing lipid fraction from the rapidly growing Mycobacterium fortuitum was found to include additional antigens, which presented high cross-reactivity with sera from tuberculosis-infected patients. Based on a combination of selective chemical degradations, thin-layer-chromatography analyses and (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the antigenic by-product was identified as 6,6'-dimycoloyl trehalose, the so-called cord factor. The lipid was purified and tested in ELISA for pulmonary tuberculosis serodiagnosis. Sensitivity and specificity of the test were found to be 66.6-74.1% and 95.2-99.0%, respectively, showing a slightly higher efficiency as compared to the ELISA performed using 6,6'-dimycoloyl trehalose from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. No cross-reactivity was found with sera from Nocardia-infected individuals.

Inhibition of interleukin-6 release and T-cell proliferation by synthetic mirror pseudo cord factor analogues in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The effects of synthetic alkyl ((alkyl 6-deoxy-a-D-gluco-heptopyranosyluronate) 6-deoxy-a-D-gluco-heptopyranoside) uronates, a novel type of mirror pseudo cord factor, on the in vitro modulation of interleukin-6 production and T-cell proliferation in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, were investigated. Synthetic mirror pseudo cord factors with alkyl chains ranging from C16 to C18 have very weak interleukin-6-inducing capacities and lack mitogenic activities for T-cell proliferation. However, they could inhibit IL-6 release induced by sonicated Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (S-BCG), bacterial endotoxin, and phytohaemagglutinin in a dose-dependent manner. Inhibition was observed not only with mononuclear cells but also with purified monocytes. Furthermore, these synthetic compounds could suppress T-lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by sonicated Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (S-H37Rv) antigens, S-BCG antigens, as well as by recombinant 65 kDa mycobacterial heat-shock protein. In contrast, these compounds failed to inhibit the phytohaemagglutinin-induced T-cell proliferation. We conclude that the inhibition of cytokine release and T-cell proliferation by synthetic mirror pseudo cord factors was due to direct blocking of the function and/or activity of monocytes or antigen-presenting cells.