@article{7360,
  keywords = {Antibodies, Bacterial, Antigens, Bacterial, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Humans, leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae, Sensitivity and Specificity, Skin, Skin Diseases, Bacterial},
  author = {Chaturvedi V and Girdhar B and Sengupta U and Sinha S},
  title = {Semi-quantitative detection of Mycobacterium leprae antigens in skin scrapings: suitability as a laboratory aid for field diagnosis of leprosy.},
  abstract = {<p>We describe here a method, potentially suitable for field applications, for semi-quantitative detection of Mycobacterium leprae antigens in skin scrapings, which are taken normally for smear microscopy. Thirty acid-fast bacilli-negative paucibacillary (PB) leprosy patients comprised the main study group; eight acid-fast bacilli-positive multibacillary (MB) patients and five healthy laboratory workers served as controls. Samples in saline were spotted on nitrocellulose paper and probed with mycobacterium-specific polyclonal or M. leprae-specific mAbs against 12, 35 and 65kDa protein antigens, using a dot-ELISA format. Spot densities were read through a densitometer and also graded visually. The polyclonal antibody produced the best sensitivity, resulting in densitometric detection of mycobacterial antigen in 100% MB, 76% multiple-lesion PB and 62% single-lesion PB patients. None of the healthy volunteers showed antigen positivity. A correlation was noted between the densitometric and visual estimates of the antigen. Determination of antigen in the lesion and an apparently uninvolved area of skin in a subset of PB patients provided clues to the state of the underlying infection. Serological positivity of PB patients for M. leprae-specific antibodies against the 35kDa and phenolic glycolipid-I antigens was too low (<20%) for any diagnostic significance.</p>},
  year = {2007},
  journal = {Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene},
  volume = {101},
  pages = {699-706},
  month = {2007 Jul},
  issn = {0035-9203},
  doi = {10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.02.026},
  language = {eng},
}