02266nas a2200337   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002600055653002400081653001600105653001100121653001200132653002500144653002500169653002700194653002000221100001700241700001100258700001500269700001500284700001300299700001400312700001500326700001500341700001500356245015400371300001200525490000700537520137000544022001401914       2006                            d  c2006 Nov10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aAntigens, Bacterial10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aleprosy10aLeprosy, lepromatous10aLeprosy, Tuberculoid10aProtein Array Analysis10aSerologic Tests1 aGroathouse N1 aAmin A1 aMarques MA1 aSpencer JS1 aGelber R1 aKnudson D1 aBelisle JT1 aBrennan PJ1 aSlayden RA00aUse of protein microarrays to define the humoral immune response in leprosy patients and identification of disease-state-specific antigenic profiles.  a6458-660 v743 a<p>Although the global prevalence of leprosy has decreased over the last few decades due to an effective multidrug regimen, large numbers of new cases are still being reported, raising questions as to the ability to identify patients likely to spread disease and the effects of chemotherapy on the overall incidence of leprosy. This can partially be attributed to the lack of diagnostic markers for different clinical states of the disease and the consequent implementation of differential, optimal drug therapeutic strategies. Accordingly, comparative bioinformatics and Mycobacterium leprae protein microarrays were applied to investigate whether leprosy patients with different clinical forms of the disease can be categorized based on differential humoral immune response patterns. Evaluation of sera from 20 clinically diagnosed leprosy patients using native protein and recombinant protein microarrays revealed unique disease-specific, humoral reactivity patterns. Statistical analysis of the serological patterns yielded distinct groups that correlated with phenolic glycolipid I reactivity and clinical diagnosis, thus demonstrating that leprosy patients, including those diagnosed with the paucibacillary, tuberculoid form of disease, can be classified based on humoral reactivity to a subset of M. leprae protein antigens produced in recombinant form.</p>  a0019-9567