02658nas a2200409   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653001000058653002300068653001300091653001100104653002400115653002000139653001100159653001200170653002600182653000900208653002800217653002100245653002400266653002500290653001300315653002400328653001300352100001700365700002300382700001800405700001800423700001500441700001500456700001300471245014200484300000900626490000700635520159200642022001402234       2003                            d  c2003 Jul 0310aAdult10aBacterial Proteins10aEpitopes10aFemale10aGenes, MHC Class II10aHLA-DR Antigens10aHumans10aleprosy10aLymphocyte Activation10aMale10aMolecular Sequence Data10aMolecular Weight10aMycobacterium avium10aMycobacterium leprae10aPeptides10aSpecies Specificity10aThailand1 aChua-Intra B1 aWattanapokayakit S1 aSrisungngam S1 aSrisungngam T1 aMahotarn K1 aBrennan PJ1 aIvanyi J00aT-cell recognition of peptides from the Mycobacterium leprae 35 kDa protein in Thai leprosy patients, healthy contacts, and non-contacts.  a71-60 v883 a<p>The objective of the study was to identify Mycobacterium leprae-specific immunogenic peptides for the development of a skin test reagent. Such a reagent is required for the detection of M. leprae infection and possibly for the diagnosis of patients with active leprosy. For this purpose, we analyzed the in vitro responses of human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMCs) to peptides from the 35 kDa protein of M. leprae. This protein is of interest since it has no homologue within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, although it has a homologue in Mycobacterium avium. The subjects enrolled in the study were paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients, healthy contacts, and non-contacts. Seventy-three PB and 124 MB leprosy patients were recruited from four leprosy clinics in Thailand. Fifty-seven healthy contacts were household contacts. Twenty non-leprosy contacts had no family history of or exposure to leprosy. PBMCs from individuals were tested for stimulation with 12 overlapping peptides from the M. leprae 35 kDa protein using the lymphocyte proliferation assay. These peptides were located in four areas containing three to six residues which were distinct for the M. leprae product in comparison to that from M. avium. Four peptides (p60-76, p132-151, p206-224 and p267-286), which were the most permissive from each region and recognized by non-contacts with significantly lower frequencies than other subject groups, were identified. From this preliminary result, we conclude that these four peptides were likely to be M. leprae-specific.</p>  a0165-2478